SIR SQUIRREL 27 



there he goes scrambling up a pine stem, spread- 

 eagled on the bark as he grips and springs all fours 

 at a time, then disappearing, to reappear in his wild 

 spiral course. Squirreling seems to be the only word 

 for it. But the fact remains that the name as the 

 Greeks gave it him (ski'-urus) signifies merely shadow- 

 tail, which may be considered rather a title of dignity 

 than a character for harum-scarum. 



Wild as was the scamper of our squirrel up the 

 tree, he is very loath indeed to take himself entirely 

 out of our cognisance. With the monkey-like curiosity 

 of a tree person, he delights to watch all our doings, 

 and, like Mr. Kipling's bandar log, he seems to have 

 a passion for attracting notice. The best way to find 

 a squirrel is often to sit quietly in his wood and wait 

 till he and his mate, or a friend or an enemy, come 

 and run races round you, or perhaps jump into the 

 tree above you, and begin "accidentally" to drop 

 rejected husks of chestnut or acorn upon you. But 

 in March he is neither at the height of his frolicsome 

 humour nor are there acorns or chestnuts to eat, nor 

 the leafy security that brings out the animal's full 

 impudence. His scolding from the tree-top is almost 

 entirely genuine now, for we are sitting not far from 

 the drey in which his young are to be born (where, 

 indeed, if they are an early litter they have already 

 arrived), and, the parent squirrels are really anxious 

 that we should leave the place in peace. 



Whether his open-air life be taken as a cause or as 

 an index of his intelligence, it is fairly certain that 

 the squirrel is naturally the cleverest of the British 

 rodents. The house-rat, which has some special 

 advantages, has developed a low cunning that stands 



