THE KINKAJOU. 



13 



curled down out of sight, and stayed there till 

 all was quiet again. 



His round spice-box nest, eight inches in 

 diameter, was his delight — by day to sleep in, 

 and by night to tear to pieces. Now spice boxes 

 are not very costly, but they come in sets, and 

 with each one of the proper size came several 

 smaller ones ; so, after overstocking my kitchen 

 pantry and filling all my empty shelves, I put 

 an end to the fun by getting a grocer's measure 

 of the right size. This, being very thick, of 

 hard wood and iron bound, was too much for his 

 teeth, and when fastened by screws to a pair of 

 iron brackets, defied all his attempts to destroy 

 it. The blankets to sleep on and to keep him 

 warm were lashed to the box ; else they would 

 not be in place five minutes. 



Fond as the kinkajou was of his nest, when 

 the door was open he discovered a place he liked 

 even better. This was the top of his cage, four 

 feet from the floor, where during the evening 

 lay a thick double gray blanket, into the folds 

 of which he delighted to creep, and peep out at 

 us, when the room was cooler than he liked. 

 To reach this snug retreat, he climbed an arm- 

 chair which stood beside it, pulling himself first 

 up to the seat, then to the arm, and then the 

 back. When the room was of a temperature to 

 please him, and consequently intolerable to us, 



