'" From his leafless height he looks clown into the Hollow 



stays iu the hollow of some old tree. A secure 

 and sensible harbor, this, in which to weather 

 the heavy storms, and I wonder that a nest is 

 ever anchored outside in the tree-tops. The 

 woodsmen and other wiseacres say that the 

 squirrels never build the tree-top nests excejjt 

 in anticipation of a mild winter. But weather 

 wisdom, when the gray squirrel is the source, is 

 as little wise as that which comes from Wash- 

 ington or the almanac. I have found the nests 

 in the tree-tops in the coldest, fiercest winters. 

 It is not in anticijiation of fine weather, but 

 [63] 



