1 62 Ways of Wood Folk. 



besides the hornet, found snug quarters in their 

 season, and a welcome. 



The hornet stayed about, contentedly enough, for 

 a week or more, crawling over the window panes till 

 they were thoroughly explored, and occasionally tak- 

 ing a look through the scattered papers on the table. 

 Once he sauntered up to the end of the penholder I 

 was using, and stayed there, balancing himself, spread- 

 ing his wings, and looking interested while the greater 

 part of a letter was finished. Then he crawled down 

 over my fingers till he wet his feet in the ink; where- 

 upon he buzzed off in high dudgeon to dry them in 

 the sun. 



At first he was sociable enough, and peaceable as 

 one could wish ; but one night, when it was chilly, he 

 stowed himself away to sleep under the pillow. When 

 I laid my head upon it, he objected to the extra weight, 

 and drove me ignominiously from my own bed. An- 

 other time he crawled into a handkerchief. When I 

 picked it up to use it, after the light was out, he stung 

 me on the nose, not understanding the situation. In 

 whacking him off I broke one of his legs, and made 

 his wings all awry. After that he would have nothing 

 more to do with me, but kept to his own window as 

 long as the fine weather lasted. 



When the November storms came, he went up 

 to a bio; crack in the window casino-, whence he had 



