A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



in his bright eye that stamps him the bravest 

 wild thing of the forest. He will fight to the 

 death. He whips his great cousin, the gray 

 squirrel, without effort, and is a match for 

 the large stoat. 



When pursued by a dog he makes a dash 

 for the nearest tree, which he mounts, calling 

 out " chickaree " as soon as he is out of dan- 

 ger. He does not, like the gray squirrel, 

 seek a hiding-place in the top of the tree. 

 No, he is far too bold to hide from a dog. 

 He stops on a low limb, just out of reach, 

 and fairly boils over with rage and fury. He 

 barks, spits, and sputters ; he makes furious 

 rushes, as if he intended to come right down 

 the tree, and " whip that dog." He violently 

 jerks his tail, and pounds the limb with his 

 hind feet, a picture of impudent, fiery energy. 



Every movement of this little squirrel is 

 accomplished without apparent muscular en- 

 ergy. He seems to float up a tree. If you 

 are near enough you may hear the pricking 

 of his claws on the bark, but you cannot de- 

 tect a muscular effort. He flashes along the 

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