SQUIRRELTOWN.
Tiny Redsquirrel
CHAPTER I.
Have you ever heard of Squirreltown? It is a town of quaint homes in the woods, in which little animals live together as contentedly as though they were human beings. The whole town is roofed over by leafy bowers, and carpeted with wild flowers. All day long butterflies flit about in the shimmering sunlight, and by night thousands of fairies come out to dance in the pale moonlight.
In this town there once dwelt a young red squirrel named Tiny. He lived with his mother near the top of an oak tree. Mrs. Redsquirrel was a poor but industrious widow. Although red squirrels are said to be the most mischievous animals of the forest, she had taught Tiny to conduct himself in a proper way. In fact, he was much better behaved than Chatty Chipmunk, who lived in the ground at the foot of the tree.
One morning early in the autumn, while the weather was yet warm, Tiny’s mother said to him, “You must bestir yourself, Tiny! Now is the time to gather acorns, seeds, and other food for the winter.”
As he sat sipping water from a hollow acorn, he observed how anxiously his mother gazed at him. “Why do you look so sad?” he asked.