Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-16
The Squirrels Sweetheart
BY MRS. I. zANGwILL.


SCI, isn't as II he had ever been wild
squirrel: 1 have been his mother ever since
he was a teeny. weeny baby, SO he must be
quite happy. you see" And the little girl
wound rub her cheek lovingly against the
reddIsh-brown fur, and look with reprosch-
full eyes at the visitor, who had pitied
s'Reauchamp's' captivity. The child had
discovered him one day In a strange-smell-
ing shop.
"'Ere's a little beauty" the shopkeeper
had said, as he drew out a small furry ball
from a cage containing a white cat and a
family of kittens. 4" Els a regular nipper.
and going dirt cheap and he set the little
squirrel upon the counter.
At any other time the little girl would
have been lost in admiration OF the kits.
but now she hardly noticed them. Tney
seemed common beside this tiny stranger,
who sat UP on his hind legs, staring at the
The little girl stared. too. silent with rap
ture. At last she gasped out as she rum
bled in her pocket:
Soh, the little sweet Oh. please, how
much.
The shopman wiped a smile from his
mouth. "Tn tell you he said. seeing that
have taken fancy to you, III let you
ave i'm for three bob.
And he was such a kind gentleman" the
little girl told them afterward. that ne
gave It to me for two shniinss and ten
pence"
Fortunately she had not heard the kind
gentleman mutter. as she departed with
empty pockets and a rustling bag: silly
child she'll never raise I'm"
However. to every ones surprise, Beau
champ prospered The little girl called him
Beauchanp, for when the squirrel arrived
she was reading her first novel, Sir Donald
Beauchamp." a blue, paper-covered book.
that had been lent her by the housemaid.
SO Sir Donald became the squirrels god
father
The name sounded funny enough for a
squirrel. although this little squirrel was
very human in Its habits. He occupied a
dolls bed and on cold nights enjoyed the
comfort of a hot-water bottle.
The little girl thought him exquisite
that she used to spend hours watching him
as ne frisked about. while mothers love
shone in her brown eyes. She looked rather
like squirrel herself, although she did not
know II. as she sat there crouched on the
window sill with her brown skin and red
dish hair and funny little motions. And
when there was no one present she would
Groom to herself In sort OF ecstasy.
"Oh, little SON." she would say, none OF
them were lovely like you, not the rabbits In
the hutch. nor the little crabs on the shore.
Your coat is like the sun shining on red
gold and your nose Is ripe hazel nut
4 A little brown nut is your nose. and your
eyt.s are ponds OF love. And your tail. oh,
my sweet. your tail Is more beautiful than
words can utter"
At this point the well-beloved tail would
upset some ornament, and nurses APP
preaching tones would rise shrill above the
crash.
There's that squirrel again, and stand
II much longer 1 win not. It's past all
bearing. and so I'll tell my mistress"
~ Beauchamps appearance was faultiess,
his conduct was far from being So He
seemed 10 take real JOY in destruction. The
sound Of breaking china must have been
, as music In his tufted ears. But the climax
came one day when the little girl had been
left alone In the nursery and had let the
squirrel out for a forbidden run She was
reading a fairy tale and forgot her cher
ished son" Suddenly there was a crash.
Starting up. she saw Beauchamp ffurrying
to and fro along the mantelpiece clearing
IL rapidly with his scrambling feet. On the
hearth lay the ruins of broken china and
photograph frames. The little girl turned
sick with diSmay; then. as she for
ward, the squirrel jumped upon the top Of
a picture that oyerhung the mantel shelf
The little girl began breatblessly Chamber
Ing toward the mantelpiece herself to cap
ture Beauchamp. 1t was absolutely against
the rules. but her first thought was to hide
Beauchamp. She had barely time to catch
him and stuff him Into her pocket when the
door opened and nurse appeared. The good
woman stared In silence. Then the storm
broke The little girl covered under the
violent scolding, but could not have put Ia
a word had she wanted to. Suddenly, with
a thrill OF JOY. she realized that nurse
thought the little girl had knocked down
the china In a lawless attempt to scale the
mantepiece. The squirrel was not even
mentioned. And when nurse departed the
little girl took him from her pocket and
shut him in his cage with a sigh of thank
fulness
"Oh. my darling" she said, my little
- -------.-.------ - -