J 66 THE ADVENTURES OF 



by its prehensile tail. Its progeny crowded busily round the 

 foot of the tree, uttering plaintive cries. The opossum then 

 came down again, and scarcely had it put foot to the ground 

 before its disconsolate family rushed pell-mell into the maternal 

 pouch. Thus loaded, the animal climbed the tree more slowly, 

 and sat herself quietly on one of the lowest branches. We 

 could see nothing but the pointed muzzles and black eyes of the 

 little ones, which seemed as if they were looking down from the 

 top of a balcony. One of them at last ventured to emerge and 

 crawled along the branches ; soon the whole litter followed 

 this example. Sumichrast advised Lucien to clap his hands, 

 and I ordered I'Encuerado not to fire at the poor animal. 

 Frightened at the noise, the little ones hastened to their mother, 

 who set up her thin ears and showed us a double row of white 

 teeth. One of the stupid little things, in its haste to reach its 

 asylum, fell down from the tree. In a moment the opossum had 

 jumped down close to it, and turned towards us her threatening 

 jaws ; then, finding all her treasure complete, she disappeared 

 among the brushwood. 



"Why didn't you .let me shoot at the tlacuache?" asked 

 VEncuerado. 



" What is the good of killing a poor creature which would be 

 of no use to us ? " 



"You know well enough," replied the Indian, "that this 

 ■ poor beast ' finds its way into granaries ; that it devours the 

 corn and also fov.ds, without reckoning the damage made by them 

 Ln other ways." 



" Yes ; that 's true enough ; but this animal, at least, is 

 innocent of all these misdeeds, for it lives too far from any 

 town." 



This scene had quite delighted Lucien. I acquainted him 

 with the fact, that opossums, kangaroos, and several other 

 animals of the kind, the females of which are provided with a 

 pouch to shelter the young ones, are, for this reason, called 

 marsupials. 



The opossum is very common in Mexico. Its long, pointed, 

 and deeply-divided muzzle is armed with fifty-two formidable 



