THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



THE OPOSSUM AND THE BANTAM 



got from his "playing 'possum" attitude 

 and scurried for the gate some distance 

 away. There were chickens everywhere 

 and they set up a great cackh'ng. Some 

 ran and all kept a safe distance between, 

 but all showed intense interest and 

 closed in behind to respectfully follow 

 him. 



A more sheepish expression than that 

 'possum wore as he continually looked 

 back over his shoulder while being es- 

 corted out by the array of fowls, I "have 

 never seen, but he did not hesitate until 

 I caught up to him ; then he climbed a 

 pear tree. "Now, old fellow, one more 

 test," thought I, so running back to the 

 yard, I caught a tame bantam rooster 

 and placed him in the tree about six 

 inches from the 'possum. He cackled 

 apologetically once and then began to 

 edge backwards and forwards on the 

 limb very alert and full of fighting spirit. 

 The 'possum hardly stirred. 



Finally the bantam leaped to a limb 



let the 'possum go free after that; he 

 waited until 1 was out of sight, then 

 slipped down the tree and scurried all 

 the way back to his drain, brimful of 

 vengeance perhaps. Ijut never to show 

 himself to me again. 



1 learned one great truth about 'pos- 

 sums and that was that as long as the 

 cover was left oiT the garbage can at 

 night, not a chicken would they molest, 

 which fact brought me to the firm con- 

 clusion that though they love chickens, 

 they only steal when the\' have to in or- 

 der to live and that they are not such bad 

 neio'hbors after all. 



A Pure White Opossum. 



Dallas City. Illinois. 

 To the Editor : 



I enclose a photograph of a white 

 opossum which was captured on the 

 shore of Lake Cooper by Mr. William E. 

 Hoskins, of this city. The eyes and ears 

 take this specimen out of the albino type 



A WIliTE OPOSSUM. 



although it has every other characteristic 



peculiar to that type. It thrives well in 



confinement and makes an interesting 



close by, flapped his wings almost in the and docile pet. 



'possum's sheepish face and crowed, not 

 once but again and again, each time 

 cocking his eye on the enemy to see 

 what efifect it had. After that he flew 

 to the ground, crowed again and ran oft' 

 to tell the admiring hens all about it. I 



Aery respectfullv, 



M. Tandy, 



What the banker sis^hs for, the mean- 

 est clown may have, leisure and a quiet 

 mind. — Thoreau. 



