He heard again the intimidating cry, and at the same instant received a sharp blow on the side of the neck and felt the sharp teeth of the mother-weasel cut into his flesh.
While he yelped and ki-yi'd and scrambled backward, he saw the mother- weasel leap upon her young one and disappear with it into the neighbouring thicket.

The cut of her teeth in his neck still hurt, but his feelings were hurt more grievously, and he sat down and weakly whimpered.

This mother-weasel was so small and so savage.

He was yet to learn that for size and weight the weasel was the most ferocious, vindictive, and terrible of all the killers of the Wild.

But a portion of this knowledge was quickly to be his.
He was still whimpering when the mother-weasel reappeared.