“Oh my! what’s that?” shrieked Blinkie.
Again there came a rumble, as another blast was set off. If the woodchucks had been above ground they would have seen a great rock fly to pieces as the powder broke it up. But down in their burrow there was trouble enough. For a second clod of earth fell, almost hitting Winkie. If it had hit her there would have been no story to tell, for that would have been the end of poor Winkie.
“Come! We must get out of here!” cried her father, as the second large chunk of dirt and stones fell from the roof. “Show us the way out you think you have found, Winkie. For neither your mother nor I saw any way.”
“Come with me!” called the wily little woodchuck girl, and she led them toward the side burrow where she had seen the daylight peeping through.
It was so narrow that there was room for only two of the animals to walk side by side. Winkie went with her father to show him what she had found.
“See! There is daylight!” cried Winkie at last. “And you can smell the fresh air!”
“Yes, so you can!” cried Mr. Woodchuck, taking a long breath. “We are saved, I think!”
Still there was much digging to be done before the hole could be made large enough for the woodchucks to get out. They were all rather plump, for they lived on rich clover. And Mrs. Woodchuck was really quite fat, though I shouldn’t like to have her know that I called her that, for perhaps she wouldn’t like it.
“We must make the hole large enough for your mother,” said Mr. Woodchuck to Winkie. “It will take some little time.”
“I’ll help!” offered Blunk, and, as he was a strong woodchuck boy, his father told Blunk to come up in place of Winkie and use his paws. Of course girl woodchucks can dig burrows fully as well as the woodchuck boys can, but there was no need as yet for Blinkie, Winkie, and Mrs. Woodchuck to work at the digging when there was room for only two to work and there were two “men” in the burrow. And Blunk was beginning to think of himself as almost a man woodchuck.