The Gray Squirrel 147 
Before daybreak you must cross the threshold of 
their forest home, and resting upon some log or 
mossy knoll near their exit, await their coming. Your 
ears will serve you better than your eyes. At the 
first rosy dawn in the east, the squirrels from the 
outlying districts mount into the tree tops and begin 
their travel toward you. Their coming is first made 
known by a slight noise on the ground, but if you 
try to locate them by ear, you may be misled; for 
where everything is so still, a slight sound may be 
heard many rods away, through the large timbered 
forest. Before you have determined the cause of the 
first sound, or before you have fairly located it, another 
is heard in a different direction. You are all attention! 
A regular tattoo of these sounds is now heard on 
the forest floor, caused by the tiny showers of dew 
shaken from the leaves, as the squirrels leap from 
the end of one slender branch to the next. Soon 
your eyes begin to take part in the scene, as the grace- 
ful forms scurry through the leafy arches overhead. 
In a little while the gray troop have passed on their 
way to the orchard. 
If our homes are conveniently situated, the gray 
squirrels will visit us during the winter and spring. 
If we tempt them with a little food, they will come 
both morning and afternoon, when the weather is not 
