He studied the wood-mice and tried to dig them out of their burrows; and he learned much about the ways of moose-birds and woodpeckers.

And there came a day when the hawk's shadow did not drive him crouching into the bushes.

He had grown stronger and wiser, and more confident.

Also, he was desperate.

So he sat on his haunches, conspicuously in an open space, and challenged the hawk down out of the sky.