fairly in his temporary cage, the boys were so pleased with his graceful
form and beautiful colors, especially the elegant stripes on his back,
that they begged hard to keep him; and they made many earnest promises
never to forget to feed him. Jonas said, at last,

"On the whole. I believe I will let you keep him, but you must do it in
my way."

"What is your way?"

"Why, after a day or two, we must carry him back to his raspberry-bush,
and let him go. But you may give him a name, and call him yours, and you
can carry some corn down there now and then, to feed him with,--and then
you will see him, occasionally, playing about there."

James and Rollo did not exactly like this plan at first, but when they
considered how much better the little squirrel himself would like it,
they adopted it; and Rollo proposed that they should tie a string round
his neck for a collar, so that they might know him again.

"I can get mother to let me have a little pink riband," said he, "and
that will be beautiful."

"It would be a good plan," said Jonas, "to mark him in some way, but he
might gnaw off the riband."

"O no," said James, "he could not gnaw any thing on his own neck." Rollo
thought so too, and they both tried to bite their own collar ribands, by
way of showing Jonas how impossible it was.