OUR COUNTRY HOME 



and dipped down for the slippery nuts. After once discovering 

 them he wasted no time, but stuffed his cheek-pouches, and dashed 

 back to his home near the cellar window. Over and over again, 

 until the jar was empty, did he go back and forth. I put out shelled 

 corn. Again the provident Jerry filled his household bins 

 until the supply was exhausted, always returning for a final look 

 into the empty receptacle. I went out and sat about a yard from 

 the jar, dropping shelled pecans in a little circle around me. It 

 took half an hour of timid reconnoitring, of sudden dashes back- 

 ward and sudden plunges forward, before he could persuade himself 

 that this exceedingly tempting food covered no danger, and that 

 the objects sitting on the bench near had no harmful purpose. 

 Nearer and nearer I placed the brass jar day by day and uncon- 

 sciously nearer and nearer came my neighbor, but with one eye 

 always on guard; his soul was full of suspicion. 



One day I settled myself down for a siege to his affections. 

 I armed myself with shelled nuts and white grapes and sat motion- 

 less, the brass jar in my lap. It took him two hours to make up 

 his mind to trust me. I occasionally dropped an earnest of my 

 treasures at my feet, making as little motion as possible. These 

 were eagerly snapped up. I held a nut in my hand on the ground 

 until my arm was stiff, before he finally snatched it. I placed more 

 nuts along the bench and up into my lap ; and great was my satis- 

 faction when I at last felt his trembling, palpitating little body rest- 

 ing against me, as he gave one deep look into my eyes, before he 



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