BILLY AND HANS 



artificial habits of life, and my ignor- 

 ance of the condition of squirrel 

 health, had begun to work on Billy 

 their usual consequences. He had 

 begun to droop, and symptoms of 

 some organic malady appeared. 

 Though he grew more and more 

 devoted to me, his ambition to climb 

 and disport himself diminished, and 

 it was clear that his civilised life had 

 done for him what it does for many 

 of us — shortened his existence. He 

 never showed signs of pain, but grew 

 more sluggish, and would come to me 

 and rest, licking my hand like a little 

 dog, and was as happy as his nature 

 could show. They both hailed again 

 with greedy enthusiasm the first nuts, 

 fresh and crisp, and the first peaches, 

 which I went to Bisle to purchase 

 for them, and of which they ate small 

 morsels ; and what the position per- 



