he never fails to be interesting. It is partly 

 because he is so frankly interested in one's 

 affairs that he is so entertaining. A gossiping 

 gadabout, a busybody, a scold ; manners of an 

 English sparrow (which alone is enough to have 

 him hanged), he— but what shall I say more? 

 This : that, in spite of his faults, I like him and 

 don't want him hanged. 



I often go into the woods when I deserve and 

 enjoy a scolding. Many a day, many an acre 

 hereabout, would utterly lack the sound and 

 form of any wild thing were it not for Chick- 

 aree. He is mostly sound, I know ; yet he has 

 • • agile legs, too, and quick wit and audacity. He 

 has a constitution and an ability to take care 

 of himself that I like to think of. See how he 

 thrives. You cannot find a deep wood, a shaded 

 roadside, a park, or a graveyard to which Chick- 

 aree does not dispute the title. 



I once met one who claimed to own, if I 

 understood him, the whole north slope of Mount 

 Washington. This was really more than he 

 needed, but he was a very greedy squirrel, and 

 I smile now as I remember how his greed over- 

 reached itself and how it brought him low. 

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