are depraved past belief— seven times worse 

 than tlie weasel, for Ms blood-thirst is natural. 

 The black-snake and turkey-buzzard are almost 

 moral compared with you. You are everything 

 wicked ; you have earned your evil reputation ; 

 you deserve to be shot. 



Perhaps you do, though I am not just sure ; 

 for it is very hard to say exactly what justice is. 

 "We, your judges, what virtue have we more than 

 you. Chickaree 9 Is our blood-thirst natural? 

 are we kin to the weasel ? We eat birds, young 

 birds sometimes ; we even eat you. 



'No, Chickaree, you are no worse than the rest 

 of us. You are bad enough, so bad that you 

 and your tribe will have to be exterminated, I 

 fear, because we righteous judges must needs 

 doom somebody for all this mischief that we and 

 our cats commit. I am sorry for you. I wish 

 you would repent and eat only nuts and pine- 

 buds, as befits an orthodox squirrel. 



I am convinced that while we may not over- 

 estimate the havoc of the red squirrels among 

 the birds, we greatly underestimate that of the 

 cats. Eeduce the number of cats ; stop shooting 

 [235] 



