Lady Mary and her Nurse

ered to her,-"Mrs. Frazer, my dear good governess has given me something-it is

book, m

squirrels in it. Mrs. Frazer, if you like, I will sit down on this cus

Lady Mary began to read the little story, which, I hope, may ente

Y OF A SQU

and were always wishing for a change. Indeed, they had been very happy, till one day when a great black squirrel swam to the island and paid them a visit. He was a very fine handsome fellow, nearly twice as large as any of the grey squirrels; he had a tail that flourished over his back, when he set it up, like a great black feather; his claws were sharp and strong, and his eyes very round and bright; he had upright ears, and long, sharp teeth, of which he made good use. The old grey squirrels called him cousin, and invited him to dinner. They very civilly set before him some acorns and beech-nuts; but he proved a hungry visitor, and ate as much as would have fed the whole family for a week. After the grey squirrels had cleared away the shells and scraps, they asked their greedy guest w

ls were very much pleased, and said they should like very mu

e large beasts, called oxen, and cows, and sheep, and pigs; and these creatures had houses built for them t

t the sheep had their warm fleeces cut off every year that the settlers might have the wool to spin and weave. Blackie did not say that the men carried guns, and the dogs were fierce, and would hunt poor squirrels from tree to tree, frightening them almost to death

e so heartily, that the old grey squirrels were obliged to hint that he had better go ba

d that even pine-kernels and beech-nuts were becoming sc

y sorry that he was gone, for they liked very much to listen to all his wonderful stories, which they thought were true; and they told their father and mother

its leaves and branches spreading like a canopy over your heads, to shelter you from the hot sun by day and the dews by night? Are there not moss, dried grass, and roots beneath, to make a soft bed for you to lie upon? and do not the boughs drop down a plentiful store of brown ripe acorns? That silver lake, studded wi

was how to run away, and go abroad to see the world, as their black cousin had called the new settlement down the lakes. It never came into the heads of the silly creatures that those wonderful stories they had been told originated in an artful scheme of t

a new family. This indeed was really the case; for as soon as young animals can provide for themselves, their parents turn them off, and care no more for the

the lonely little rocky island, though it was a pretty spot, and the place

Velvet-paw and Silver-nose, "or we may chance to get our tail

and agreed to rest on Pine Island near the opening of Clear Lake. "And then take to the shore and travel through t

sweetly in the still, dewy morning air; while from a cedar swamp was heard the trill of the green frogs, which the squirrels thought very pretty music. As the sun rose above the tops of the trees, the mist rolled off in light fleecy clouds, and soon was lost in the blue sky, or lay in large bright drops on the cool grass and shining leaves. Then all the birds awoke, and the insects shook their gauzy wings which had

s; and though there were no men and women and little children, in the lonely waters and woods, to lift up their hands and voices in prayer and praise

o the rocks, mosses, ferns, and flowers that had sheltered them, among which they had so often chased each other in

to her sister Velvet-paw. "We shall not be long in reaching yon

their soft grey heads and ears and round black eyes only being seen, and the bright streaks caused by the mo

t very long before they landed on the island. They were all very glad when they met again, after the perils and fatigues of the voyage. The first thing to be done was to look for something to eat, for their early rising had made them very hungry. They found abundance of pine-cones strewn on the ground, but, alas for our little squirrels! very few kernels in them; for the crossbills and chiccadees had been at work for many weeks on the trees; and also many families of their poor relations, the chitmunks or ground squirrels, had not been idle, as our little voyagers could easily guess by the chips and empty cones round their holes. So, weary as they were, they were obliged to run up the tall pine a

r, perched at his ease on a top branch of the heml

w to equal that. But look sharp, or you will get your neck wrung

our old one," whined Silvy, who was much f

don't be a coward,"

there were hawks and coons on

my part, I think it is a fine thing to go out a little into the world. We should never se

agles have strong beaks, and racoons sharp claws and hungry-looking teeth; and it

made, Silvy, and, Velvet, your two admirers, the hawk and racoon, would soo

angers," whispered Velvet-paw, "but let us see how he will

"it is easy to brag be

ome partridge-berries, of which they were very fond, f

ds. The leaves are small, of a dark green, and the white flowers have a very fine fragrant scent. Though the runaways found none of these berries fit to eat, they saw some ripe strawberries among the bushes; and, having satisfied their hunger, began to grow very merry, and whisked here

f their frolics, Nimble skipped into a hollow log-but was glad to run out again; for a porcupine covered with sharp spines was there, and was so angry at being disturbed, that he stuck one of his spines into poor Nimble-foot's soft velvet nose, and there it would have remained if Silvy had not seized it with her teeth and pulled it out. Nimble-foot squeaked sadly, and would not play any lo

*

he kissed her nurse, and-said "Now, Mrs. Frazer, I will

cake or a lump of sugar out of the fingers of their little mistress. Lady Mary had two canaries, Dick and Pet; and she loved her dormice and birds, and her new pet the flying squirrel, very much, and never let them want for food, o

RT

INED ON PINE ISLAND-HOW THEY BEHAVED TO THEIR POOR RELATI

et-paw and Silver-nose went to call Nimble-foot, they were surprised to find his nest empty; but after searching a long while, they found him sitting on the root of an upturned tree, looking at a family of little chitmunks busily picking over the pine-cones on the ground; but as soon as one of

r so thickly furred; and instead of living in the trees, they made their nests in logs and wind-falls, and had their granaries and winter houses too under ground, where they made warm nests of dried moss and grass and thistledown; to these they had several entrances, so that they had always a chance of refuge if danger were nigh. Like the d

very little politeness, laughing at them for living in holes in the ground, instead of upon lofty trees, as they d

ss, but merely said that, if being high-bred made peo

ilies," said Silver-nose, "we shall do you

s were fast asleep," replied an old chitmunk, po

ng good for us," said Nimble-foot. "I have no doubt you hav

him he might come and

ch among the moss and leaves, to find the entrance to the chitmunks' grain stores. They peeped under the old

ery poor just now, finding it difficult to get a few dry pine-kernels and berries, bu

put us off with promises, when we are so hun

ll come to a mill, where the red squirrels live, and wh

st way to the mill?

keep the Indian, path, a

, who could not tell what had become of them; for though they did find a round hole that they thought might be one of their burrows, it was so narro

the three, "perhaps, if we had been civil,

have set before us the best they had. I could find it in my heart to dig them out of their holes, and give them a good

up their minds to leave the island; and as it was not ve

here than we were in the little island in Stony Lake, where our good old mother

to take the path by the margin of the lake, for there they had a better chance of getting nuts and fruit; but though it was the merry month of June, and there were plenty of pretty flowers in bloom, the berries were hardly ripe, and our little vagrants fared but badly. Besides being hungry, they were sadly afraid of the eagles and fish-hawks that kept hovering over the water; and when they went further into the forest to avoid them, they s

the shell. Some bird of prey had scared away the poor nuthatch, and Velvet-paw no doubt thought she was in luck when she found the prize; but it would have been a dear nut to her, if Nimble, who was a sharp-sighted fellow, had not seen the owl,

ver-nose, looking very pitifully at Nimble-foot;

e hemlock-tree? Well, my dears, he has a fine store of good things in that beech-tree. I watched him run down with a nut in his teet

close and dry. They soon made a great hole in the red squirrel's store of provisions, and were just choosing some nuts to carry off with them, when they were disturbed by a scratching against the bark of the tree. Nimble, who was always the first to take care of himself, gave the alarm, and he and Velvet-paw, being nearest to the hole, got off safely; but poor Silvy had the ill luck to sneeze, and bef

lvet-paw to forsake her in such a time of need; nor was this the only danger that befel poor Silvy. One morning, when she put her nose out of the hole, to look about her before venturing out, she saw seated on a branch, close beside the tree she was under, a racoon, staring full at her, with his sharp cunning black eyes. She was very much afraid of him, for she thought h

anything more to my taste than a pretty grey squirrel, I wi

uch me, if I come out and show you

n his breast; "but if you do not come out of your hole, I shall soon come and dig

in the hollow of the tree, she bade him good-bye, and whisked up a tall tree, where she knew the racoon could not reach her; and having now quite recovered her strength, she was able to leap from branch to branch, and even from one tree t

thinking it might be one of the fine stores of grain that people built for the squirrels, as her cousin Blackie had made her believe. The poles were covered with sheets of birch-bark, and skins of deer and wolves, and there was a fire of sticks burning in the middle, round which some large creatures were sitting on a bear's skin, eating something that smelt very nice. They had long black hair, and black eyes, and very white teeth. Silvy felt alarmed

captive state; the little squaw used to feed her, and one day took her out of the box, and put her into a nice light cage, where there was soft green moss to lie on, a little bark dish with clear water, and abundance of food. The cage was hung up on the bough of a tree, near the wigwam, to swing to and fro as the wind waved the tree. Here Silvy could see the birds flying to and fro, and listen to their cheerful songs. The Indian women and children had always a kind look, or a word to say to her; and her little mistress was so kind to her, that Silvy could not help loving her. She was very grateful for her care; for when she was sick and sulky, the litt

*

retty Silvy was not ki

took car

ar, for you to put dow

-morrow we will

ase, Mrs. Frazer

T I

HE MILL AT THE RAPIDS-AND

ter, swam down the current till they came to a place called the "Narrow," where the wide lake poured its waters through a deep rocky channel, not more than a hundred yards wide; here the waters became so rough and rapid, that our little swimmers thought it wisest to go on shore. They scrambled up the steep rocky bank, and found themselves on a wide open space, quite free from tr

", said Nimble, looking about h

this white powder is very sweet and nice;" and she began t

"these are better than pine-kernels, and not so hard. We must have come to one of the great grain-stores that our

noise-a sort of buzzing, whirring, rumbling, dashing, and splashing;-and away ran Velvet-paw in a terrible fright, and scrambled up some beams and rafters to the top of the wall, where she sat watching what was going-on, trembling all over; but f

make of him at all; it turns round, and round, and round, and dashe

at it; let us go away. I want to find out what these two big stones are doing

derful in two big stones

ty bigger than th

is running down all the time into this great box. Well, we shall not want for food

troubled at the sight of a black dog, which spied them out as they sat on the beams of the mill, and ran about in a great rage, barking at them in a frightful way, and never left off till the miller went out of the mill, when he went away with h

; and close by the house was a barn, a stable, a cow-shed, and a sheep-pen, and th

rd and sour, not being ripe. "I do not like these big, sour berries," said she, making wry faces as she tried to get the bad taste out of her

ave no quiet, barking and baying at them whenever he saw them; and also for the watchful eyes of a great tom-cat, who was always prowling about the mill, or creeping round the orchard and outhous

fields of wheat; so were the red-winged blackbirds, and the sparrows, and many other birds, great and small; field-mice in dozens were cutting the straw with their sharp teeth, and carrying off the grain to their nests; and as to the squirrels and chitmunks, there were scores of them, black, red, and

ey got a severe beating from the red squirrels for not helping them to drive off the sau

mble one day to his red cousins; "don't you see Peter, the miller's man, ha

"you are not so foolish as to think the miller is harvesting that grain for your use. No, no,

hese mills and barns are all stored for the use of the miller and his family; and what is more, my friend, I can tell you that men a

n and squirrels too. However, I suppose all must live, so we will let them have

and make hay while the sun sh

t here," said idle Velvet-paw, setting up her fine tail

l come to no good," said the red squirr

and seeing a quantity of wheat in the feeder of the mill, she ran up a beam and jumped down, thinking to make a good dinner from the grain she saw; but it kept sliding down and sliding down so fast, that she could not get one grain, so at last she began to be frightened, and tried to get up again, but, alas! this was not

ll go away from this place, and try and earn an honest living in the forest. I

e knew there were plenty butter-nuts, acorns, hickory-nuts, and beech-nuts, to be found, besides ma

of birch and beech, and over these he laid dry green moss, which he collected on the north side of the cedar-trees, and some long grey moss that he found on the swamp maples, and then he stripped the silky threads from the milk-weeds, and the bark of the cedar and birch-tree

He laid up a good store of nuts, acorns, and roots: some he put in a hollow branch of the hemlock-tree close to his nest; some he hid in a stump, and another store he laid under the roots of a mossy cedar. When all t

ircle; and having stripped some sheets of birch-bark from the birch-trees close by, they thatched the sides of the hut, and made a fire of sticks inside. They had a dead deer in the canoe, and there were several hares and black squirrels, the sight of which rather alarmed Nimble; for he thought if they killed one sort of squirrel, they might another, and he was very mu

grey squirrel in her arms; it did not seem at all afraid of her, but nestled to her shoulder, and even ate out of her hand; and what was Nimble's surprise to see t

Silvy came out to play in the moonlight, and frisk about on the dewy grass as she used to do. Then Nimble, when he saw her, ran down the tree, and came to her and rubbed

. Then in her turn she told Nimble all her adventures, and how she had been caught by the Indian, girl, and kept, and fed, and tamed, and had passed her time very happily, if it had not been for thinking about her de

squirrel, and love my liberty. I would not exchange a life of freedom in these fine old woods, for all the dainties in the

s, nor hawks, nor owls, nor weasels; if I see any hungry-looking bird

ullness; if there is danger in a life of freedom, there is pleasure too, which you

the Indians awake and se

er newly-found brother, but she was unwilling to forego all

vy, for they would think it a fine thing to hunt me with

all your perils, and we will never part again." She then ran into the wigwam; and going softly to the little squaw, who was asleep, licked her hand

est, and they soon reached his nice com

*

have been so lonely without her, and then you know it must have seemed so har

ar lady; thus you see, love for her old companion was stronger even than love

read a little more, for

mused themselves i

went on and r

*

withered grass, which was pitched so high that it threw off the rain and kept the inner house very dry. They worked at this very diligently, and also laid up a store of nuts and berries. They knew that they must not on

pping from bough to bough, and frolicking over the hard crisp snow, which scarcely showed on its surface the delicate print of their tiny feet, and the sweep of their fine light feathery tails. Sometimes they met with some little shrewmice, running on the snow. These very tiny things are so small, they hardly look bigger than a large black beetle; they lived on the seeds of the tall weeds, which they, might be seen climbing and clinging to, yet were hardly heavy enough to weigh

the trees, or over the brush-heaps; their jetty coats, and long feathery tails, forming a striking contrast with the whiteness of the snow

frosty air, the fall of a decayed branch, the tapping of a solitary woodpecker, two or three small species of which still remain after all the summer birds are flown; and the gentle, weak chirp of the little tree-creeper, as it runs up and down the hemlocks and pines, searching the crevices of the bark for insects. Yet in all this seeming death

the edges of the streams; the bright coral bark of the dogwood seemed as if freshly varnished, so brightly it glowed in the morning sunshine; the scream of the blue jay, the song of the robin and wood-thrush, the merry note of the chiccadee, and plaintive cry of the pheobe, with loud hammering strokes of the great red-headed woodpecker, mingled with the rush of the unbound forest stream

ul flash of the fireflies, as they glanced here and there, flitting through the deep gloom of the forest boughs, now lost to sight, as they closed their wings, now flashing out like tiny tapers, borne aloft by unseen hands in the darkness. Where that li

s, and open beak, ready to entrap the unwary moth, or moskitoe, that float so joyously upon the evening air. One after another, sweeping in wider circles, come forth these birds of prey, till the whole air seems alive with them; darting hither and thither, and uttering wild shrill screa

f the green-frog, and the deep hoarse bass of the bull-frog, which ceases only at intervals, through the long, warm summer night. You might fancy a droll sort of dialogue was being carried on among them. At first,

hree will rise and reply, "No, I

you hold your ears. When all this hubbub has lasted some minutes, there is a pop, and a splash, and down go all the heads under the weeds and mud; and after another pause, up comes the old father of the frogs, and beg

ls. I dare say neither Nimble nor Silvy were in the least annoyed by the hoarse note of the bull-frog; but gambolled a

er and mother. So they started at sunrise one fine pleasant day, and travelled along, till one cool evening, just as the moon was beginning to rise above the pine-trees, they arrived at the little rocky islet w

er feathers, and set up her ears-for she was a long-ear

r to see our parents, whom we left here a year

st a long time ago, and took possession of the tree and all that was in it, and they brought up a large family of little ones, all of which I pounced upon one after another, and a

?" asked Silvy, in

ed the horrid old owl, beginning to scramble out of the nest,

r parents too?" asked t

ry tough, to be sure, but

old tree, where they lay till the morning; they were not much concerned for the death of the treacherous black squirrel who had told so many stories, got possession of their old nest, and caused the dea

*

y Mary, "how do y

id it was a ve

rse, they might have gone on their travels too when they were old enough, and

these were only common grey ones, which are a different

d, looking up in her nurse's face

have written little tales called fables, in which they make birds and beasts spea

n, nurse? I wish it had been