CHAPTER XI 

 THE SQUIRREL 



OF all the beautiful creatures which we 

 find in our woodlands there is not one 

 more lovely than the squirrel. It is 

 an exquisite sight perched aloft at the end of 

 the swaying bough of some tall tree : clothed 

 in reddish-gold, with its bushy tail curled over 

 its back, and rocking gently to and fro in the 

 breeze, it seems the embodiment of grace, 

 beauty, and wild life. Intelligence, too, gleams 

 from its beady dark eyes, as it gazes down from 

 its stronghold, the tree-tops, where it reigns 

 supreme, unmolested by other animals and birds, 

 and safe from the reach of all creatures save 

 man with his gun. 



Its agility, its extraordinary leaps and bounds, 

 the graceful ease with which it makes its way 

 through the tree-top world, and its quickness 

 to note the approach of danger when it does 

 venture down to the ground, all help to render 

 it safe from attack by any of the creatures which 

 at present roam our woods. In days gone by, 

 when the wild cat and the pine marten were 



219 



