“Grandfather was a nice foreign man who lived in a little house round the corner. He had made some money in selling old clothes, and he was bringing up his daughter’s children. At Christmas time he had saved enough money to buy a nice tree for his grandchildren. He stayed up late Christmas eve to trim the tree, and Cross-Patch watched him. The blinds were up and another red squirrel called Chickari, who was a tremendous climber, told me that he watched the old man too, and it was pretty to see him hanging little bags of candy and candles and strings of popcorn on the branches.
“When he got through, he said, ‘Now, doggie, don’t you touch anything, and when the children strip the tree in the morning, you shall have your share of good things.’
“Cross-Patch wagged his tail. He had had a good supper, and was not hungry, and then he was a reformed dog.
“Unfortunately the old man, in trotting to and fro from the kitchen to the dining-room, where the tree was, forgot to bring Cross-Patch out, and he had to sleep in the room with the
tree. Of course he touched nothing, but didn’t that scamp of a squirrel get in through some hole or corner.”
“What were those squirrels doing out on a winter night?” I asked.
“Red squirrels don’t sleep like logs through the winter, as some squirrels do,” said Chummy. “Chickari was prowling because his supplies had run low. Squirrie was out for mischief. He has a long head and always lays up enough and more than enough. Perhaps he felt the Christmas stir in the air. Anyway, he got into this old rickety cottage and ran up and down the Christmas tree, as if he were crazy, but he scarcely touched anything at the top. Just to tease Cross-Patch he nibbled and bit and tore at everything on the lower limbs.”
“Why didn’t Cross-Patch chase him?” I said indignantly.
“He did, but what can a dog do with a lively squirrel? Besides Cross-Patch could not see very well, although there was a moon shining in the room. He is getting old. However, he became so angry that at last he made a splendid leap in the air, and caught the tip end of Squirrie’s tail which is like a fine bushy flag.
He got a mouthful of hair, and the tail did not look so fine afterward.