clothes that were laid out to dry; this they did to line their nests with.
Next year there were very few to be seen."

"What became of them, nurse?"

"Some, no doubt, fell a prey to their enemies, the cats, foxes, and
weasels, which were also very numerous that year; and the rest, perhaps,
went back to their own country again."

"I should like to see a great number of these pretty creatures travelling
together," said Lady Mary.

"All wild animals, my dear, are more active by night than by day, and
probably make their long journeys during that season. The eyes of many
animals and birds are so formed, that they see best in the dim twilight,
as cats, and owls, and others. Our heavenly Father has fitted all his.
creatures for the state in which he has placed them."

"Can squirrels swim like otters and beavers, nurse? If they come to a
lake or river, can they cross it?"

"I think they can, Lady Mary; for though these creatures are not formed
like the otter, or beaver, or muskrat, to get their living in the water,
they are able to swim when necessity requires them to do so. I heard a
lady say that she was crossing a lake, between one of the islands and the
shore, in a canoe, with a baby on her lap. She noticed a movement on the
surface of the water. At first she thought it might be a water snake, but
the servant lad who was paddling the canoe, said it was a red squirrel,
and he tried to strike it with the paddle; but the little squirrel leaped
out of the water to the blade of the paddle, and sprang on the head of the