LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



motionless about the loose bark, none of them 

 apparently looking at me, but straight before him 

 in whatever direction he happened to be facing, 

 as if his thoughts were of other things. One that 

 was almost within reach of my hand seemed to be 

 quite blind, for the centre of each eye showed a 

 perfectly opaque white spot like the eye of a 

 blind horse. But he appeared as well able to 

 take care of himself as were any of the others, 

 although if I remember rightly he refused to 

 leave the tree and finally crept back into the hole 

 from which he had emerged. The others sailed 

 off one by one to other trees or to the ground, 

 along which they ran like chipmunks. 



All the flving squirrels I have ever seen under 

 like conditions have behaved in this manner, 

 apparently acting wholly upon instinct and with- 

 out displaying the slightest symptom of intelli- 

 gence ; but for all that, there are no more attrac- 

 tive or winning creatures in the woods. They 

 never exhibit any marked symptoms of fear, but 



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