“Shaggy?” repeated Lucy.
“Yes,” replied Mary Jay; “he looks more like a young porcupine, than like a duck.”
“Let me hold him in my hand,” said Lucy.
So Mary Jay gently placed him in Lucy’s hand.
“Now put your other hand over him,” said Mary Jay.
“What for?” said Lucy.
“To keep him warm,” said Mary Jay. “One of your hands will be a bed, and the other a blanket.”
“We’ll go in and give him something to eat,” said Lucy.
“No,” replied Mary Jay, “it is warmth, not food, that he wants.”
So Mary Jay walked along towards the house, and Lucy followed her, carrying the duckling very carefully, covering it with her right hand, though she took care not to press her hand down upon it hard enough to hurt it. When they got into the house, Mary Jay got a little basket, not much larger than a tea-cup, and lined the bottom of it with cotton. Then she put in the duckling, and covered him over with cotton.