All during lunch, we joshed each other about the great mess of trout on which we were not dining. We spoke of its fine quality. We agreed that what Jim had caught, had won first prize for the work of the morning. So, it was in such fine spirit that we went back to our rods and reels and the wise old trout to which we would now show no mercy, none at all. But the wise old trout stayed wise and out of reach, and by late afternoon most of us were looking a bit anxious. When the bacon odors came this time, they did not seem quite the same as at lunch. The talk around the fire was a bit grim.

One thing that animal life needs is space in which to find food and to grow. Someone once put a few rabbits on a small, green island. This was an excellent place for rabbits; they quickly grew in size and in numbers. In a year or two they ate up all the grass and sprouts and leaves. Just as you would guess, that was the end of the rabbits.

The tale is told, too, of an island on which there were so many mice that they just about took over the place. The island was one of some value because a rare bush grew there, one whose bark is used in medicine. The owner brought in some cats to get rid of the mice. The cats did the job too well. When all the mice were gone, the cats grew so wild and fierce that even men had to move out, leaving the whole island to a horde of wild cats.

The more you see how nature has armed living things so that they might stay out of the jaws of other living things, the more amazed you will be. For example, a squid can shoot out a jet of black ink and leave its foe in a dark cloud. An urchin can cut its way out from inside another fish. An eel can stun a foe with an electric jolt. A salmon can cut and run away at thirty miles an hour.

Nature has helped man no less. We have feet and legs so we can run; we have hands and arms so we can fight; we have a brain that helps us think up ways to outwit a foe, and this brain is hidden in a skull that is mighty hard to crack. But the best trick nature had given a lot of us, I think, is a glib tongue: We talk our way out of danger!