THE BOY-HUNTER. 41 



over, they would throw aside their arms, and take ^olian 

 instruments they frame, and, with stealthy footing round the 

 oriole's hanging nest, make creeping music, steal into her 

 happy dreams, until she twitters in her sleep, of the dim 

 sweetness, fitfully ! 



All this I saw with that young squirrel ! — aye, and much 

 more, too ! I have not told you yet about its friends that 

 live in the cold shade of little mossy grottos down the deep 

 glen, where it must go to drink ! They are grotesque little 

 fellows, with fin-like wings, and you might any time see 

 squirrels play with them — whether you could see them or 

 not — jumping from rock to rock, darting under dark old 

 mossy roots, to hide in gurgling water underneath ; diving in 

 still pools, where it will fear to follow, or shooting a swift 

 rapid to some island pebble in the midst, where master bushy- 

 tail, with all his long bounds, cannot reach ! — if I should go 

 on to tell you of all these doings, and of ever so much more, 

 you would know him just as well as I did ; but I don't tell 

 every thing ! — we had our secrets between us, and I am 

 bound over about some of the daintiest of them ! 



Whether you believe all this or not, its just the same to me, 

 for I did, and that even before I was big enough to go into the 

 woods alone to see for myself! When I did go, I found it 

 was all the same, except that I couldn't see the little friends 

 very plain, though I could see squirrel plain enough ! 



Then, when I went out by myself into the deep wood, I sat 

 down on the moss at the root of an old tree, to watch for 

 him. When every thing was still again, I would see him 

 after awhile poking his nose slily out of the hole, snufi"! snufi"! 

 Then out his head would pop to rest his chin upon his fore- 

 paws, and he would look all around, above and below, very 

 cunning, to see if it was all right. Then out, like a thought, 

 he would glide, and I could see his lovely brush quickly 

 curled and spread all so grand above his head as he sat upon 

 a limb, still, for the moment. Lo ! there is another snufSng 



