For the Children

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16820, 24 August 1922, Page 3

For the Children

THE SQUIRREL FAMILY Right down,in the depths of Sussex there stands a rambling old house with caves and gables, and of course, garden full- of holly-hocks and tiger-lilies Trees there are, too, in the garden, besides the flowers; and in one of the trees there is a hole and in the hole, a year or so ago, wa's a little baby squirrel and his mummy and daddy. AJ r and Airs Squirrel were very proud of their Hole House. It was such a cosy, comfy little place. It had its diningroom, drawing-room, kitchen, scullery and bedrooms, all rolled into one. Wasn’t it rather a squash, three of them all in one room' no bigger than a hole in a tree•? Not a bit of it! Why, when once they had squeezed through the hole, there was even room for them to go to sleep side by side, each with his bushy taW curled up round his nose to keep it warm ; so, of course, there was plenty of room when they were merely sitting with their tails arched up round their backs dinner. As a matter of fact, when Air and Airs Squirrel first went to live at Hole House, it really was rather a tiny place, so MrSquirrel specially asked him to make one room of it. and Air Squirrel agreed and set to work with his sharp little teeth, to such purpose that, when Nora Nuthatch, who had lived there before, came back to visither old home, -she could scarcely recognise it. STORING WT NTER SUFFIRES. So big did Air Squirrel make the house that they not onlv had enough room to sleep iu, but enough room for a store-cupboard as well. Fa oh claw all through the spring and summer, the three of them would climb out through the door of their house and go scampering through the branches, springing from one tree to the next, until they found something specially nice to take home to -store up for the winter. Sometimes, Alaster Babv went out all I>\ himself. He didn’t always find anything for the store-cupboard ; but. even so. he always had the greatest fun playing hide and seek with his own tad round the tree-trunks or dancing from side to side like a mongoose. He always used to dance when lie felt speci - ally pleased with himself and with each jv.nm he would give his tail a little jerk and make a little clacking noise, j just, like a farmyard •hen. 1 Somehow, that vear there didn’t ! seem to be many nice things about I for the store-cupboard in Hole House. nor wore the autumn nuts so plentiful | a:- usual. The consequence was, when. | winter came, instead of sitting at horn-' 1 jo Air and Airs Squirrel had done the previous winter before Master. Bab\ i was born the squirrelo used to go out I every day and search f c,r tood. Air j Squirrel used to go one wav; Airs Squirrel another ancl Baby a 'third. Then if one of them did find something to eat ho would call the others ! and. after they had eaten as much ns they wanted, they would take the rest back to their store-cupboard, agaipst, the days when thev didn’t find anything at all. ! At last, one day, the snow came. Baby Squirrel had never seen it be fore, and he thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. Although if was very beautiful, the snow did not seem to make it any easier to find thing? to eat. In fact while it lav on the ground, Mr and Airs Squirrel just staved at borne in Hole House and advised Alastev Bn hr to do the same But he. nothing daunted, went out ei erv dov as usual and oven if ho ■ didn't find anv thing to cat, ho could

shake clouds of snow off the branches and listen to it fall with a dull :-kwudg,e on to Hie white carpet l>enenth. That was far more exciting than staying at home and going to sleep, like his mummy and daddy. HE MEETS NORA NUTHATCH. One day, while playing in this fashion he happened to meet Nora Nuthatch. fie bowed to her very politely because he had often met her before in the nutting season. She was just as fond of nuts as ho was and so a.? was only natural, after they had said “ Good morning,” to one another, the conversation soon turned to nuts. Ot course, not long before each discovered that the other had come out to look for some. 4 “Well 3 never," said Nora Nuthatch “ Why, ‘l in ’just going to fetch some for my supper. You’d better come along, too, and I’ll show you where to Master Baby was delighted and said so very gratefully, and then followed Nora as she threaded her way through the branches. He found it rather difficult to keep up with her. but he managed not to got too far behind arid arrived at the last tree, on the edge of the lawn, just as she was disappearing round the corner of the house, on the further .side of it. “ Good gracious me ! Where can she he going to?” be thought, as ho raced down the tree-trunk and over the ,-noweoyorccl grass. When he reached the corner, round which she had disappeared, he could at first sec no signs o' lier. However, just as. he was beginning to think he had lost her alto-

gether, ho heard a little tap from somewhere over his head. He looked up and there, if you please, was Nora, sitting 011 a windowsill uot three feet from ins nose, tapping a nut against the stone to attract his attention. “May 1 came up, too?” he whispered. “ Certainly.” said Nora. “ I’m sum the people will be pleased to see you. So up climbed Alaster Baby and such a feast of nuts .a si met his eye. He thanked Nora Nuthatch and then pick ing up a nut in his mouth, lie set off hack to Hole House as f as his little legs would carry. Later on. he was back again and then again. After that, of course, he came lots of time- on other days, too. and the people were al ways verv pleased indeed to see him