The Flying Squirrel 173 
love for a new amusement. One evening I placed 
in their cage two small apples. Upon awakening 
the squirrels discovered the apples, and one of them 
began to nibble at the fruit. The other squirrel ap- 
proached the one eating the apple, who, to avoid 
being disturbed, immediately carried the apple into 
the wheel to complete his feast. In some manner 
the wheel began to revolve, and the bounding of the 
apple on the wire bars so amused the squirrel that 
he forgot his hunger, and began a play entirely new 
to him. Soon the other squirrel was attracted by the 
lively noise produced by the apple striking on the 
bars, and he joined his comrade in the wheel, and 
a rollicking time they had of it, jumping and bounding 
over the apple, while the wheel was rapidly revolving. 
This was the beginning of what proved to be great 
sport for the squirrels. After this it was not unusual 
for them to have two or three large nuts in the wheel, 
and when the wheel revolved somewhat of a medley 
resulted. 
In all their varied movements in the wheel they 
were marvellously quick and graceful. Their motions 
were at times too rapid for the eye to follow. Some 
idea of their agility may be obtained by a description 
of the passage from the cage into the wheel; to go 
into the wheci the squirrels had to pass through 
