48 



FOUR-HANDED FOLK. 



On the occasion of the visit of a child, he was 

 at first very jealous ; did not like her to occupy 

 a lap he had considered his own, and opposed 

 with a squealing grunt her sitting on his special 

 stool before the fire. But she was a gentle 

 child, and a little later he became very fond of 

 her, let her pat him, sit beside him on his seat, 

 and at last insisted upon lying on some article 

 of her dress, if any were in the room. 



What the small African set his mind on, he 

 always secured in the end, for his persistence 

 was simply marvelous. He w^as as fond of apples 

 as any schoolboy, and the head of the family 

 liked to tantalize him by coming in with one 

 hidden in his pocket. The sharp little nose 

 sniffed it at once, and the eager little fellow 

 sprang upon the apple-bearer, tried to dive into 

 his pocket head first, then to dig into it from 

 below, and, despairing of this, went to work to 

 tear away the garments that covered it. No 

 doubt he would have succeeded, but before he 

 went so far the owner gave in, and handed the 

 fruit to the impatient creature. He snatched 

 it at once, and fairly " gobbled " it, biting off 

 pieces with his back teeth, throwing his head up 

 to chew them, and carefully separating and 

 dropping the skin. 



He never at any time made a full meal, as do 

 many beasts. His desire seemed to be merely 



