Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-08
The Home in ths Trees.

The House In the Trees.
Last summer papa p,ade the children
very happy by building for them
playhouse in the air Three rig oaks
in the garden grew sc close together
that they formed 4 triangle, and the
house consisted of a board platform
fitted into this triangle and inclosej
by a substantial and clCsoly built rail
ing The dense foliage of the three
Cak trees formed 4 roof in pleasant
weather and a rubber blanket made an
excellent covering when it rained, A
short ladder provided n stairway to
this airy playhouse and papa and
mamma agreed that the children had
never found greater pleasure in any
thing. Eight-yeaT-old Gertrude and
kcr friend Alice kept house .here, for
there was plenty of room for two
small girls and their dollies on this
nice perch Sometimes Gertrude and
the dolls yielded possession to brother
Ned and his friends, and then there
was active hosting Of camping neces-
sities-things useful Ia a Swiss family
Robinson.
All through the long. sunny sum
mer days many new and pleasant uses
were found for this house among the
trees, but when the days grew short
and the oak leaves turned crimson and
then blew away and left the little nest
all unprotected the house was reluc-
tantly deserted.
Among the things with which Ned
had amused himself during the sum-
mer was a worn-out clock; taking the
works apart and putting them together
again had kepG him busy several rainy
mornings. In the autumn when the
playthings were brought down from
the treehouse the old wooden clock
case had heen overlooked, but the
works mad been hopelessly scattered
by this time and Ned said: I'VE won't
bother to put up the ladder again just
for the old case"
Late in the autumn two pretty red
squirrels took up their residence in
the garden The children saw them
almost every day first in one tree
and then in another and at last they
grew so Jsme that they would come
within few feet OF the children and
pick up the nuts they put out for them.
They seemed to understand that Ger
irude and Ned we're their friends, but
when Grim. the cat, or Kip, the dog
appeared, there was such a scamper-
ing that it made the children laugh,
though they would not have had the
two little cunning things hurt for any
thing
The floor OF the house in the trees
was nearly level with one of the up
stairs windows in the house where Ned
and Gertrude lived. One cold morn
ing as Ned was dressing he happened
to glance out of the window and his
eye was attracted by something NOV.
ing in the tree house. From his win
dow he could look directly into it, and
there he saw the two little red squr-
rels cracking and eating nuts in the
niost contented manner imaginable
One of them soon finished his nut,
jumped into the old clock case and
came out with another In a moment
the other squirrel did the same, and
Ned called his mother and Gertrude
to come and see the squirrels eat
breakfast"
Il wonder IL they have all their win
ter nuts in that clock case said
Gertrude.
Mamma suggested that Ned put up
the ladder after breakfast and take up
some hickory nuts to Gdd to Sheir sun
ply. Ned could hardly wait until he
lad eaten bis breakfast to do this, and
the moment ne was through he was
out after the ladder.
He took a large lag Of nuts. nut
when he climbed to a place where he
could look into the clock case he
called down to Gertrude, who was
standing below, THAI It was already
"crammed full." However, he emp
tied his nuts in a nice little pile on
the floor Of the house, and it was not
the children's fault II the red squir-
.els do not have plenty Of food in their
pantry for the long winter.-Chicago
Record-hfg uld.