The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-02

hiding place in it, The pine was standing
alone, and the only way to reach the thick
woods where | lived was to travel a part of
the way on a zig-zag fierce.
Now. didn't like to do this To be out
in the light is bad enough, but to travel
on fence with the shine ball and every
thing else looking at you, is worse still. So
| stretched out on the big linb, notfar from
the ground, and tried to. be content. i
didn't know how long / lay there, but all
of sudden felt the wind rushing down
on me, and under the limb LSwept like a
fash-and none too soon, for as 1 went
under a big hawk came swishing by so
close that I could almost feel her feathers
brush me. Well, l was so frightened | be-
gan to pant. I had often heard of hawks
and had been warned against them, but
never saw one before. Did you ever see
one? They are terrible
This hawk was not satisfied She
swooped and circled as l do when | make
a long flying jump from tree to tree She
circled upward and sailed around overhead.
I couldn't see for very well for the glare of
the shine ball."
what de name er goodness is de shine
ball?" inquired Drusila. ~
why. it's the sun, goosey," answered
Sweetest Susan.
~ couldn't see very WELL said Fit. "and
so I went on top of the limb again; but,
had hardly stretched out there, thinking
the HdWh WIS gone, WneH lett the WIND
again, and this time she didn't miss me
more than a hairs breadth Up went the
hawk again, and thought it would be best
for me to stay under the limb. But this
didn't help me much. The hawk began to
call her mate, and in a very short time
there were two of them sailing around.
The biggest one came slowly down and lit
on the limb right over me. She leaned for
ward and looked at me-and of all the hor-
rible features you ever saw, she was the
most horrible. She breathed loud as a
'possum shores.
II came very near dropping from the
limb. / moved towards the body of the tree
and the hawk moved after me and tried to
reach me with her hooked beak. I made
dash and went round the body of the tree,
and 1 did so the hawks mate came
swooping down.. By this time the. other
hawk was on the wing, and by the time I
darted on the other side she was ready to
swoop. This wouldn't have lasted long.
Some one came along and said shoe to
the hawks and they flew away, and then
felt that somebody take me from the tree
more dead than alive"
where are your brothers and sisters?"
. asked Sweetest Susan.
"Well, you know how 1t Is in the woods
and fields; 1t is everybody for himself, and
everything for itself. Once out of the nest
you must look out for yourself. AS for
my brothers and sisters, I wouldn't know
wouldn't know me. Sometimes | see my
mother and she always has hickory nut
or a sweet acorn to give me: but as for the
rest know nothing about Them 1t Is very
comfortable here, where you have some-4
body to clean out the hicory nuts for you,
and 1 suppose / will never see any of my
kind any more. A little more water, If you
please-just drop Now If you'll put me
in nice soft place I'd like to take nap"
But before Fit could get any sleep, the
children felt in duty bound to show him to
their mother and to their grandfather. The
White-haired Master, who never allowed
anyone to kill or pursue the gray squirrels
on his place. took the liveliest interest in
Fit He took him to the library sent for
some ginned cotton. and made him a nest
behind some books on the top shelf which
was too high for the children to climb to-
and there, for many long day he made
his home.
The library was in a room that had not.
been originally built for holding books. and
the shelves were built against window.
the back of them being boxed In al that
point Fit soon discovered that there was
broken pane behind this boxing. which
gave him an easy way of going out and
coming In. He went out and in to so mitch