“Ah, ha!” thought Slicko. “They look good! I can eat them without stopping to gnaw off the hard shell.”
The little jumping squirrel started toward the pile of nut meats, but, before she could reach them, Bob put in front of her another hoop, covered with paper.
Just as she had done at first, Slicko tried to run to one side, but Bob kept the hoop in front of her. Slicko had forgotten about jumping through, even though she had done it only a little while before.
[Slicko gave a sudden little jump, and, right through the paper she went.]
Most animals are that way when first they learn a new trick. They forget very easily, until they have done it over and over again. It was this way with Slicko.
But as Bob kept the hoop in front of her, and as she kept smelling the nice nuts at the other end of the table, it came into Slicko’s head that she must jump through the paper of the hoop to get them, just as she had done to get the piece of apple.
“Here I go!” thought the little squirrel.