Birds and All Nature, Vol. 4, No. 2, August 1898: Illustrated by Color PhotographyVarious
History
Birds and All Nature, Vol. 4, No. 2, August 1898: Illustrated by Color Photography
Various
Birds -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals
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 intelligence, or been happy, cooped up behind wires all
day long?
[Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
FOX SQUIRREL.
5/9 Life-size.
Copyright by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1898, Chicago.]
THE FOX SQUIRREL.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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