52 THE BABY STORE-KEEPER. 



Nearly three weeks passed, when the love of 

 prying overcame all other scruples, and a peep 

 into the snug, cosy, chequered retreat was irre- 

 sistible. Separating with the utmost caution the 

 walls of the entrance- hole, three baby- squirrels 

 were visible, such queer little animals, they 

 seemed all eyes and tail. The papa and mamma 

 were both loud in their remonstrances, and 

 frightfully angry at the impertinent intrusion; 

 but as I did not touch the infants, and, as far as 

 practicable, mended the torn entrance, why, it 

 appeared to me there was not much ground for 

 complaint. 



Visiting my pets on the following day, imagine 

 my surprise at finding the nest empty, and 

 the old and young vanished together. First I 

 thought some poaching weasel had murdered the 

 innocents; but no the old ones had carried 

 them away into some other retreat, because I 

 had looked at them, and meddled with the nest. 

 Instinct here appears vastly near akin to 

 reason ; what had happened once, the ' Store- 

 keeper' evidently thought might occur again, and 

 wisely took the precautionary measure of conceal- 

 ment, selecting a spot unknown to the intruder. 



Its name, ' Ogress Squirrel,' arises from a 

 singular Indian tradition, that I think is quite 



