456 
THE RACCOON. 
have a sharp muzzle, with intelligent, 
piercing eyes, a robust figure and rather 
slender limbs. They devour birds’ eggs, 
fruit, and, in fact, almost every thing 
that comes in their way, and are very fond 
of dipping their food in water. They are 
easily domesticated and become very tame 
and playful.” 
“ Besides being very mischievous,” said 
Richard. “ Mr. Barton had one which was 
as full of tricks as any monkey, and a ter¬ 
rible thief. Once they got the pies ready 
for Thanksgiving: you know Mrs. Barton 
is famous for pies-” 
“Ido,” interrupted Sidney. 
“Well, her pies were all made and ar¬ 
ranged on a shelf in the pantry ready for 
dinner, and when Mrs. Barton came home 
from church she thought she woi*ld look in 
to see that all was right. The first thing 
she saw as she opened the door was master 
coon’s tail vanishing through the window. 
He had dug a round hole in the centre of 
every pie and had served several loaves of 
cake in the same way.” 
“How provoking!” said Antoinette. 
u What did she do to him ?” 
