MISCHIEF MAKERS 357 



come too near his home, and keeping up an incessant 

 chatter from morning until night. Then, as soon as the 

 seeds are formed in the cones, he spends his days in the 

 evergreen trees shelling off the cone scales and drop- 

 ping the cobs to the ground, packing his cheek pockets 

 full of seeds to carry home, or else, if he has plenty of 

 time, dropping the cones to the ground, and carrying 

 them one by one to his cupboard to shell at leisure. 



" He makes his home in a great many places, both 

 above and below ground, but prefers a nice tree hole 

 for winter, with its crevices well stored with nuts and 

 seeds, though he will eat almost anything he can find. 

 He does not hibernate, but merely stays indoors dur- 

 ing bitterly cold and windy weather. If it is snowy 

 and bright, you will often see his footprints in the 

 vicinity of one of his storehouses. If his provisions 

 fail, he gets into mischief by pruning trees of their 

 biggest buds, or making excursions to the woods and 

 meddling with the bait in traps set for better game ; for 

 though the Red Squirrel has sweet meat, he is rather 

 small to be classed with food animals. That doubtful 

 honor belongs to his big brotliers, the Gray and Fox 

 Squirrels. Cheerful as he is, he is not without troubles 

 of his own. Hawks and Owls will pounce upon him, 

 and many annoying insects insist upon living in his 

 furry coat. These parasites, as they are called, abound 

 on all ' nuisance animals,' and seem to be one of Nat- 

 ure's ways of keeping them from overrunning the earth. 



" There is no need of describing the Gray Squirrel, for 

 you have one to look at to your hearts' content. See ! 

 he has eaten all the nuts he wishes and is trying to bury 

 that last one in the sand in the bottom of the cage." 



