Or from anything else, for that matter. And day after day he worked to prove to his father and to the rest of the pack that he was, indeed, brave. He was the first to leave the den, the last to return every day. He even began to challenge the other pups for the meat brought home from the hunt. Occasionally, despite his smaller size, he won out of pure determination. Once he snatched a doe's shinbone from under Hunter's nose, and when she stepped back and left the prize to him, he dragged it around all day so the rest could see. But however fearless he tried to be, his father never seemed to notice. Then one day, wandering restlessly on the perimeter of the clearing, he encountered a brown spiny-looking creature he had never seen before. "Stay away from me," she muttered. "Don't you dare come near!" "Why should I stay away?" Runt asked. He wasn't being rude. He really wanted to know. Surely, his father would take no notice of such a warning. Bider wouldn't, either. "Because I'm dangerous," she replied.
