Little Goat Mountain hitchhiking

a hiccup came from the lump that he was sniffing around. athamas was thrown off, lurching backwards shortly in surprise at the unfamiliar noise. yes, hearing was new too. 

after a moment, the lump settles and stills, so the boy scoots closer. the tail is no longer his interest, but rather the head that had lifted from the object briefly. he tries to move towards the front of his sister, but decides to halt next to her shoulders, unable to tell exactly where the neck and head are when they are lowered to the ground with the rest of the creature. 

was that the part of the thing that had moved? and maybe it was a smaller version of the milk-giver, with its own supply of deliciousness? he bumped his dark snout gently against her shoulder, but there was no smell of food here, so perhaps his theory was misguided.