THE SQUIRREL 



159 



sound or movement alarms it, and it is so agile that when it is dis- 

 turbed it seems almost to fly from branch to branch, and from tree 

 to tree, and is soon lost to sight. 



The squirrel finds its '' rodent " teeth very useful when it has 

 to eat a nut. It takes the nut in its paws, and nibbles away 

 the point. Then it can 



get its teeth in to break ' 1 



the shell, which it con- 

 tinues to do till the 

 kernel is released. It 

 then cleverly peels off 

 the brown husk and 

 enjoys its dainty meal. 



The squirrel is very 

 fond of nuts, and early 

 in the autumn it gathers 

 a quantity together, 

 and hides them away 

 in some place of safety, 

 to be a provision when 

 a milder day than usual 

 may rouse it up from 

 its long winter sleep, or 

 when the spring has 

 come and it is not an 

 easy matter to find 

 food. 



Unlike most mam- 

 mals, the squirrel lives in a nest, placed high up in a fork of a tree. 

 And a very clever builder the little animal is! Although it has 

 nothing but leaves, grass, and moss o£-.vvhich to make its dwelling, 

 it weaves these together so closely and well that even the rain 

 cannot find its way through. 



In this nest it sleeps during the night; and also for two or three 

 hours in the heat of the day. During the winter months it hardly 

 ever leaves it at all, for it is most of the time asleep. 



Squirrel 



