THE MARMOSET. 



*5 



was down upon him like a flash, with a sharp 

 chatter, and often snatched the candy away. 



The notion they got by this performance was 

 that an open mouth was an invitation to hunt 

 for sugarplums, and this made a funny scene 

 one day. A gentleman visitor was talking and 

 laughing in the room, when one of the marmosets 

 noticed that his mouth was unusually large, and 

 frequently opened in a most tempting way. He 

 quietly stole up on to the man's knee, then, not 

 being noticed, he ran up his arm, and at last 

 from the top of his shoulder gazed longingly 

 into the attractive opening. 



No friendly hand, however, was held up to the 

 chin for him to stand upon, and it was some dis- 

 tance from the shoulder. He stood and looked 

 earnestly, while all the room full — except the 

 gentleman himself — were watching him. 



At last the poor little fellow grew desperate, 

 and when a hearty laugh opened wider than 

 usual the tantalizing candy-box, as he thought 

 it, he took one flying leap, landed somewhere 

 (it was done so quickly that no one could say 

 where), and head and shoulders disappeared 

 within the tempting cavity. 



There was a cry of horror from the spectators, 

 who had not imagined that he would go so far, 

 a yell of dismay from the victim, a jerk of the 

 tail from his master, and the poor little beastie 



