CHAPTER YIIl. 



MY HAPPY FAMILY. 



I capture a coon — Some agoutis also — Mocking birds and doves — 

 Sea swallows and pelicans — Tropic birds and men-o'-war. 



It was more through accident than by design that 

 I became the possessor of a " happy family " ; but 

 gradually there gathered about me a little group of 

 animals that seemed to look up to me as their master 

 and their protector. 



It is pleasant, when one has no human companion, 

 to feel that he is not altogether deserted, and I wel- 

 comed with feelings of joy these members of the 

 lower classes in feathers and fur. 



Although I had made excursions into the woods, 

 still I had not fully investigated the open level and 

 the beautiful meadow back of my hut and between it 

 and the forest. In truth, you know, one is rarely ac- 

 quainted with his nearest neighbors. We are prone 

 to overlook most interesting things near at hand in 

 our search for other things, perhaps not so valuable, 

 far away. So I resolved to become better acquainted 

 with the animals to be found in the section immedi- 

 ately contiguous to my bay, and with that purpose set 

 about examining my surroundings. 



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