He made his bound before he saw what it was he was jumping at , and then he tried to stop himself . The result was that he shot up straight into the air for four or five feet , landing almost where he left ground . `` Man ! '' he snapped . `` A man 's cub . Look ! '' Directly in front of him , holding on by a low branch , stood a naked brown baby who could just walk -- as soft and as dimpled a little atom as ever came to a wolf 's cave at night . He looked up into Father Wolf 's face , and laughed . `` Is that a man 's cub ? '' said Mother Wolf . `` I have never seen one . Bring it here . '' A Wolf accustomed to moving his own cubs can , if necessary , mouth an egg without breaking it , and though Father Wolf 's jaws closed right on the child 's back not a tooth even scratched the skin as he laid it down among the cubs . `` How little ! How naked , and -- how bold ! '' said Mother Wolf softly . The baby was pushing his way between the cubs to get close to the warm hide . `` Ahai ! He is taking his meal with the others . And so this is a man 's cub .
Now , was there ever a wolf that could boast of a man 's cub XXXXX her children ? ''
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