"But we'll take a look. I'll carry you, Sue, and then, even if it is some animal in the hole, you won't be afraid."
Sue didn't mind going closer if her father carried her, and soon the two children, and Mr. Brown, were looking down into the hole at which Splash was barking.
All at once a light brown animal, covered with fur, and larger than the muskrat Splash had barked at in the lake, stuck its head out of the hole.
"Oh, look!" cried Bunny. "It's a little bear!"
"No, that's a ground-hog, or woodchuck," explained Mr. Brown. "They won't hurt you. This must be the old father or mother, and there may be little ones in the hole, or burrow, so the old folks want Splash to go away."
But Splash did not want to go. He barked louder than ever at the sight of the woodchuck, and pawed at the dirt with his fore paws. But he could not reach the brown, furry animal.
"Come away. Splash!" called Mr. Brown.
Still Splash barked.
Then, all at once, the woodchuck thrust out
