THE WEASEL. 
445 
happy at this time, for she had received a let¬ 
ter from her mother giving her permission 
to stay till Christmas if she wished, on con¬ 
dition that she should attend to her lessons 
regularly with Miss Taylor and read only 
such books as Aunt Louisa approved,—con¬ 
ditions she very willing undertook to fulfil. 
Matilda laughed at her, and prophesied 
that she would find it stupid enough and 
he glad to come home long before Christ¬ 
mas ; but she agreed with her that she got 
on much faster with Miss Taylor than she did 
in school, and that her health was better, 
and, as long as she liked it, perhaps it was 
just as well. It was a sad fact that those 
sisters had very little regard for each other.) 
“Do, aunt,” echoed Daisy: “I love to 
hear about such little things.” 
“I must be very brief, then, and only 
notice one or two of each group. To the 
family of weasels belong the polecat, the 
ferret, (famous for his rat-catching exploits,) 
the ermine, the sable, the mink and the 
marten,—all valuable for the sake of their 
fur. Of these the common weasel is most 
generally known. It is a very small, slender 
animal. The body, which is usually about 
