A HOUSEHOLD PET. 
He was named "Bushy" on 
account of his tail; no Squirrel, 
I am sure, ever had a finer one. 
He lived in a cage at first, but 
the door was always left open, 
so that Bushy did not feel he 
was a captive at all. He took 
great pleasure in running up the 
lace curtains of the drawing- 
room windows, upon the cornices 
of which he spent a great deal 
of his time, always taking his 
nuts up there to eat. At length 
he concluded to give up his cage 
and live up there altogether. 
He would build a nest, but 
where to find the twigs, wool, and 
feathers for it sorely puzzled 
Mr. Squirrel. 
One day he scampered up to 
the top of the house, and in the 
attic found some cast-off finery 
of the housemaid. It was hard 
work for the little fellow to 
carry a night-cap, or an old 
pocket handkerchief, or an old 
stocking in his mouth down two 
sets of stairs, but it was the 
best material he could find, and 
Bushy was determined to build 
a nest. As well as he could, he 
jumped from one step to another 
all the way, with his mouth full, 
at one time a yard or more of 
ribbon streaming behind him. 
In this his feet got entangled, 
tumbling him over and over, so 
he stopped and with his fore- 
paws neatly packed it into his 
mouth before going further. 
Sometimes, after all his hard 
work, Bushy would find the 
dining-room door closed, so he 
would have to sit outside very 
patiently till it was opened. 
The moment he was admitted, 
up the curtain he would climb 
with his material, often dropping 
it two or three times before 
reaching the top. It was a very 
wide, old-fashioned cornice, with 
a great space behind, and here 
the nest was built. The old 
caps, ribbons, and odds and ends 
were woven into a very large, 
long-shaped nest, lined with bits 
of the dining-room door-mat on 
which he had been so often 
compelled to wait. At last all 
was finished, and Bushy moved 
up into his new house, never 
again sleeping in his cage. 
During the day he would descend 
for his food, which he carried 
up to his house to eat, then down 
again to frisk and play about. I 
am sure Bushy's master was 
very glad he left the cage door 
open, for how could the little 
fellow have shown such intelli- 
gence, or been happy, cooped up 
behind wires all day long? 
52 
