A HOUSEHOLD PET. 



He was named "Bushy" on 

 account of his tail; no Squirrel, 

 I am sure, ever had a finer one. 

 He lived in a cage at first, but 

 the door was always left open, 

 so that Bushy did not feel he 

 was a captive at all. He took 

 great pleasure in running up the 

 lace curtains of the drawing- 

 room windows, upon the cornices 

 of which he spent a great deal 

 of his time, always taking his 

 nuts up there to eat. At length 

 he concluded to give up his cage 

 and live up there altogether. 

 He would build a nest, but 

 where to find the twigs, wool, and 

 feathers for it sorely puzzled 

 Mr. Squirrel. 



One day he scampered up to 

 the top of the house, and in the 

 attic found some cast-off finery 

 of the housemaid. It was hard 

 work for the little fellow to 

 carry a night-cap, or an old 

 pocket handkerchief, or an old 

 stocking in his mouth down two 

 sets of stairs, but it was the 

 best material he coukl find, and 

 Bushy was determined to build 

 a nest. As well as he could, he 

 jumped from one step to another 

 all the way, w^ith his mouth full, 

 at one time a yard or more of 

 ribbon streaming behind him. 

 In this his feet got entangled. 



tumbling him over and over, so 

 he stopped and with his fore- 

 paws neatly packed it into his 

 mouth before going further. 

 Sometimes, after all his hard 

 work, Bushy would find the 

 dining-room door closed, so he 

 would have to sit outside very 

 patiently till it was opened. 

 The moment he was admitted, 

 up the curtain he would climb 

 with his material, often dropping 

 it two or three times before 

 reaching the top. It was a very 

 wide, old-fashioned cornice, w^ith 

 a great space behind, and here 

 the nest was built. The old 

 caps, ribbons, and odds and ends 

 were woven into a very large, 

 long-shaped nest, lined with bits 

 of the dining-room door-mat on 

 which he had been so often 

 compelled to wait. At last all 

 was finished, and Bushy moved 

 up into his new house, never 

 again sleeping in his cage. 

 Duringthe day he would descend 

 for his food, which he carried 

 up to his house to eat, then down 

 again to frisk and play about. I 

 am sure Bushy's master was 

 very glad he left the cage door 

 open, for how could the little 

 fellow have shown such intelli- 

 gence, or been happy, cooped up 

 behind wires all day long? 



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