424 COMMON WEESEL. 
cold weather, I have not observed this. Some- 
times, when the sun shines, while he is playing on 
the bed, he turns and tumbles about and murmurs 
for a while. 
From his delight in drinking milk out of 
my hand, into which I pour a very little at a 
time, and his custom of sipping the little drops 
and edges of the fluid, it should seem that he 
drinks dew in the same manner. He very seldom 
drinks water, and that only with great caution, 
and in defect of milk ; and then seems only to 
refresh his tongue once or twice: he even seems 
to be afraid of water. During the hot weather it 
rained a good deal. I presented to him some 
rain-water in a dish, and endeavoured to make 
him go into it, but could not succeed. I then 
wetted a piece of linnen cloth in it, and put it 
near him, when he rolled upon it with extreme 
delight. 
One singularity in this charming snimal is 
his curiosity; it being impossible to open a drawer 
or a box, or even to look at a paper, but the 
little creature m^II examine it also. If he gets 
into any place where I am afraid of perniitting 
him to stay, I take a paper or a book, and look 
attentively at it; when he immediately runs 
upon my hand and surveys with an air of curio- 
sity whatever I happen to hold. I must farther 
observe, that he plays with a young Cat and 
I)og, both of some size, getting about their necks, 
backs, and paMS, without their doing him the 
least injury." 
