THE SPIDER MONKEY. 



151 



hours when her human neighbors were hard at 

 their books and it was not time for dinner. If 

 the dog — who was about half grown — made 

 his appearance, she came out of her hammock 

 like a flash, and pounced upon her friend, when 

 the two rolled over and over on the floor, growl- 

 ing and snapping, pretending to be very savage, 

 and no one could tell that it was not a big dog 

 and a little dog at play. 



Tiring of dog-play, she next insisted on his 

 submitting to her sort of fun, which was to be 

 swung by the tail or leg, to be held in her arms 

 like a baby, and, above all, to be hugged. The 

 dog endured honorably and with as good grace 

 as he could for a while, but if it grew irksome he 

 ran away, rejoicing doubtless that his too exact- 

 ing friend could not follow. 



When the squirrel joined in the romp, it 

 assumed still another character and became a 

 chase, after the custom of the nut-cracker tribes. 

 Around and around went the three strange com- 

 rades in mad race, the squirrel leading, with long 

 bounds, and tail undulating like waves behind 

 him ; the monkey galloping on all-fours, tail 

 straight up in the air ; and the dog running 

 hither and thither, barking at the top of his 

 voice. The affair always ended in a general 

 clinch, and tangle of fur and legs and long tails, 

 and barks and growls and chatters, so mixed up 



