The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-05-09
A CURIOUS PET.
The Franks of a Tame Woodchuck-How
He Played with the Kittens.


He Played with the Kittens.
Perhaps some of the young readers
would like to hear about a tame wood
chuck had few years ago. There
was boy coming from town one day,
and saw some boys tormenting some
thing they had on the ground; when
he got near enough he saw it was a
little baby woodchuck that had not its
eyes open. Being fond of pets he asked
them what they would take for it. They
replied five cents. SO the exchange
was quickly made, and he brought it
home and laid ii in my lap and wanted
me to take care of it. | got teaspoon
full of warm milk, but the little thing
could not drink, so | opened its mouth
and dropped drop at a tine till he
had swallowed two teaspoonfuls, then
made him a bed of soft grass and laid
him in it, and what do YOU think he
did? He made small hole and
crawled into it out of sight and
went to sleep. But when he woke
up he was hungry and | had to
feed him as did before, don't know
how many tiIues day, till he was two
weeks old, then he began to drink and
open his eyes and began to play Just
like a little kitten. After he got so he
could eat nicely, l used to take him
into a lettuce bed had in the garden.
Oh, how he did love it! he would eat
till he could not walk into the house,
! and | would take HIM in and put him to
bed and he would 90 to sleep. When
he woke up he would run after me and
bite my dress and take hold of it with
his little hands His feet looked like
small hands, and l never was too busy
to stop and play with him few minutes;
he was the incest little pet ever had.
Whenever we had cheese in the house
he would smell it and he wound run
from his hiding place and make pc
culiar whistle until we were glad to
give him all he wanted. He would sit
upon his hind feet, take whatever YOU
gave him and eat every crumb. We
had two little kittens that used to play
around where he was, and Chuck
would watch them; then he would ster
in and help play, Just as they did, lay
on his back and kick both back and
| AIOhu 1'Cls Out do Ac grew OlucI uG
would play so rough it would end in a
quarrel, kitties running one way and he
another.
One day I heard noise in Ollie S
sleeping-room, and in going in there
what do you think saw? Why, Chuck
on the bed between two sleepy kitties,
patting first one, then the other, till he
woke them up to play; and for about
ten minutes they played, when the kit
ties went out of the window and he
rolled over and went to sleep. Every
day he would crawl into the window
and lay down between the kitties and
sleep. No matter where he was, if we
wanted him we would call Chuck,
Chuck, Chuck, and he would come. He
stayed with us till late in the fall; he was
large and fat. and he could Just waddle
along. On Sunday morning he came
and wanted his breakfast; then, after a
good play with me, he went out into the
cellar. We had been troubled with rats.
He found their roads and enlarged
| them and drove them all of, but this
Sunday night he did not come when we
called Chuck, and we never saw him
again, and we felt badly at losing him.
! There were a great many rats around.
| and | suppose he found them and liked
their company better than ours. De
tT0lt Free Press.