How Animals Work. 



Nature's children. During our stay we twice caught 

 sight of our Squirrel amongst the branches of the 

 wood there was no mistaking the scar upon the bridge 

 of his nose, which could be plainly seen through our 

 field glass ; and thrice in the following year I saw 

 him, only just a furrow across his nose, showing where 

 the old scar had been. So I hope that in the end he 

 " married and lived happy ever after," as the story 

 books of our childhood had it. 



The Dormouse, most compact and delightful little 

 creature, is also a nest-builder. It places its nest either 

 in a hollow in the ground, low down amidst the branches 

 of bushes, or now and then in the hollow of a tree stump. 

 Moss, grass, dry leaves, small twigs, and pine-needles 

 are the materials used, the Dormouse matting them 

 together into a neat little globular nest, snug and warm, 

 within which, coiled up into a ball, it sleeps away the 

 greater part of the long cold winter months, only rous- 

 ing up on particularly mild days to eat some of the 

 little store of food which it had carefully provided 

 and stowed away in the autumn for winter use. Prob- 

 ably on account of its more sedentary habits, although 

 it is lively enough in all conscience during the height 

 of summer, the Dormouse takes much more kindly to 

 confinement than the Squirrel ever does, and soon 

 becomes a wonderfully tame and confiding little pet, 

 becoming very lively at night. In its natural state, 

 during the summer months, it is as lively as a cricket 

 in the evening, but sleeps peacefully in its nest 

 most of the day. It climbs with wonderful adroit- 

 ness among the small twigs and branches of shrubs 

 and small trees, often hanging by its hind feet from 



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