<div><h1 id='ch30'>CHAPTER XXX<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE OTTERS MOVE ON</span></h1></div>
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<p class='line0'>Who doth the law of safety heed</p>
<p class='line0'>Will not be influenced by greed.</p>
<p class='line0'>              <span class='it'>Little Joe Otter.</span></p>
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<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> young Otter, who had left
a toe behind in a trap, was so
happy to be free again that he
hardly gave the loss of that toe
a thought. The cold water was
good for the sore foot, and as the
young Otter was healthy, his foot
healed rapidly. In fact, in two or
three days his foot was practically
well. But the young Otter didn’t
forget his dreadful experience.
He never would forget it. He
had learned a lesson that he would
remember as long as he lived.
All his life he would be suspicious
of traps and on the watch for
them. Never again would that
young Otter be caught in a trap.</p>
<p class='pindent'>Of course, the trapper found
that toe in his trap. Such a disappointed
trapper as he was!
“There won’t be a chance of
catching that Otter again,” said he.
“I must have been careless in
setting that trap. It should have
caught him by the whole foot and
not just by a toe. Probably those
other Otters know all about it
now.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>When he discovered the new
slippery slide he knew that his
traps at the old slippery slide had
been found. He set another trap
at the foot of the new slide, but
he didn’t have much hope of
catching any one in it. He understood
perfectly that Little Joe
Otter and Mrs. Joe were wise in
the ways of trappers. “I guess,”
muttered the trapper, “that my
best chance of getting one of those
Otters will be to hide for a chance
to shoot one of them. To-morrow
I’ll spend the day over here with
my gun.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>So he spent all the next day hidden
near the slippery slide, watching
with his terrible gun. But
he didn’t have a chance to use it.
He didn’t get so much as a
glimpse of a sleek, brown head.
And the reason was that Little
Joe Otter and his family were
far away down the brook. They
had started early the night before.
They were on their way down to
the Big River.</p>
<p class='pindent'>Little Joe and Mrs. Joe had
talked the matter all over. “It
isn’t safe to stay here any longer,”
declared Little Joe. “I don’t like
to leave the good fishing, for we
may not find another place where
it is so easy to get plenty of fish.
But that terrible two-legged creature
will give us no peace. There
is a trap now at the foot of our
new slippery slide.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>“You are quite right, my dear,”
replied Mrs. Otter. “I am worried
to death for fear, in spite of all
their watchfulness, one of the
children will get caught in a
terrible trap and be killed. I
think the sooner we move along
the better. Safety is the most
important thing.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>So once more Little Joe and
his family went traveling. There
was a crust on the snow now,
and they had a lot of fun sliding.
Moreover, they didn’t leave a trail
as when they had left the Laughing
Brook in the soft snow. They
followed the big brook on its way
towards the Big River. Now and
then they came to open places
where the water was swift and
hadn’t frozen. There they stopped
to fish. Sometimes they swam for
quite a distance under the ice.</p>
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