crow sitting on a branch above him displayed great interest in his
occupation, and, hopping down a few moments afterwards, disposed of
some worm-eaten nuts, a few larvae, and an insect or two, with
languid dignity and without prejudice. Certain incumbrances,
however, still resisted the squirrel's general eviction; among them
a folded square of paper with sharply defined edges, that declined
investigation, and, owing to a nauseous smell of tobacco, escaped
nibbling as it had apparently escaped insect ravages. This, owing
to its sharp angles, which persisted in catching in the soft
decaying wood in his whirlwind of house-cleaning, he allowed to
remain. Having thus, in a general way, prepared for the coming
winter, the self-satisfied little rodent dismissed the subject from
his active mind.

His rage and indignation a few days later may be readily conceived,
when he found, on returning to his new-made home, another square of
paper, folded like the first, but much fresher and whiter, lying
within the cavity, on top of some moss which had evidently been
placed there for the purpose. This he felt was really more than he
could bear, but it was smaller, and with a few energetic kicks and
whisks of his tail he managed to finally dislodge it through the
opening, where it fell ignominiously to the earth. The eager eyes
of the ever-attendant crow, however, instantly detected it; he flew
to the ground, and, turning it over, examined it gravely. It was
certainly not edible, but it was exceedingly rare, and, as an old
collector of curios, he felt he could not pass it by. He lifted it
in his beak, and, with a desperate struggle against the
superincumbent weight, regained the branch with his prize. Here,
by one of those delicious vagaries of animal nature, he apparently
at once discharged his mind of the whole affair, became utterly