MR. CHUPES AND MISS JENNY 



particular fancy was taken by strings that 

 had been patiently wound round and round 

 a rattling slat in the hope of silencing it. 

 These were soon cut by his sharp teeth and 

 added to the store we had presented for ac- 

 ceptance. 



The squirrel's presence during the 

 greater part of the day puzzled us not a lit- 

 tle. I consulted with the inmates of the 

 house in the grove as to the cause of his 

 change of residence, but they were as much 

 in the dark about the matter as I was. 

 Moreover they had an extra puzzle or two 

 of their own which they propounded to me 

 for solution. 



What had caused the recent disturbance 

 in the bird settlements of our neighbor- 

 hood? Why had companies of purple 

 grackles, of robins, of thrushes, of orioles, 

 of cat-birds, of indigo birds, of woodpeck- 

 ers, and, indeed, representatives of all the 

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