In what will likely be heralded as a bleak Groundhog Day prognostication, one of Canada’s most famous rodents died before he was set to make his prediction about spring’s arrival.
Organizers in Quebec broke the news this morning to the crowd gathered in Val d’Espoir, saying nine-year-old Fred la Marmotte had been found dead the night before.
In Fred’s place, organizers pulled a stuffed toy groundhog from a miniature wooded hut and handed it to a child who called for six more weeks of winter.
Among the groundhogs who made an appearance on the decisive day, predictions were split….