Muffins followed, and ran up the tree trunk a little way, but she did not go as far as Slicko had gone.
“My! That was the time she almost caught me!” thought Slicko, her little heart beating very fast. “I must be more careful after this. And oh! those nuts were so good. But I won’t dare go down after them again until it’s dark, when Muffins can’t see me.”
Slicko stayed in the tree all the rest of that day. She could see the pile of nuts on the ground, but, though she was very, very hungry, she did not dare go down to get any for fear of Muffins.
Slicko saw Bob come and look at the nuts. The boy cried out:
“Oh, my squirrel has been here! Some of the nuts are gone! Slicko is somewhere around here!”
But, though Bob looked in all the trees around the house, he could not find Slicko. Slicko saw Bob, though.
The little squirrel stayed in the tree all that night. But she did not have a very good time. It was cold, and it rained, and there was no hole, and no nest, into which Slicko could crawl to keep warm. She just had to shiver. And she was more hungry than ever, too.
“Oh dear! Running away isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be!” said Slicko. “To-morrow, when Bob puts out the nuts again, and leaves the cage open, I’m going to run back into it. I have had enough of living like this. I had rather do tricks, such as jumping through paper hoops, than be cold and hungry.”
But the next day Bob went away, and did not put out any nuts for his little squirrel. And those he had put out were carried away by the rats.