Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-03-21
Teddy Roosevelt Shaw on
The Squirrels
Dear Juniors:

Dear Juniors:
I will write a story about squirrels
Once upon a time agentleman went
out in a great forest and cut away the
trees and built there very nice llttle
cottage 1T was set very low on the
ground and had very large bow VIM
! dovs. and so much of it was glass
| that one could looi through it on every
side and see what was going on IN the
forest
You could see the little chipping
sparrows and the thrusheS ana roplns
and bluebirds building their nest mere
and there among the branches ana
watch them from day to day as they
laid their eggs and Matched their young
You could also see red squirrels and
gray SQUIRRELS and little striped squir-
rels darling and Springlng about mere
and there and everywhere, running
races here and there with each other
from bough to bough and chatterlng at
each other in the gayest possible man
ner.
Old Mrs. Rabbit declared that the
hammering and pounding made her
nervous. Depend upon it children she
said to her long cared family, no good
will come to us from this change.
Where man is there comes away
trouble for us poor rabbits.
The old chestnut tree that grew on
the edge of the woodland ravine drew
a great sigh which shook all its leaves.
The squirrels talked together of the
dreadful state of things that would
come. Why" said old father gray,
mature brings the nuts for us: but one
of these great human creatures Will
carry off what would keep hundred
poor families of squirrels in comfort
The bluebirds and bobollnks, 1t is
true, took more cheerful views OF mat
~ y q q
observed thev were a flighty set. half
of their time being spent in the south.
In spite of all this disquiet about 1t
the little cottage grew and was finish
ed The walls were covered with pretty
paper. the floors carDeted with pretty
carpets, aud ir fact, when it was all ar
| ranged, and the garden walks laid out
and beds of flowers laid out too, it be-
gan to be confessed that after all it
was not so bad a thing as had been
feared.
| Several gay butterflies fitted in and
| out of the little cottage, and were Won
derfully delighted, and then humble
bee and two or three honey bees eN-
pressed themselves we'll pleased with
! the house, but more especially en-
chanted with the garden. In fact, when
it was found that the owners were
very fond of nature, and had come out
there for the purpose of enjoying her,
that they watched and spared the
flowers. that they never allowed gun
! to be fired to scare the birds and
watched the building of their nests
with the greatest interest, then every
cricket and bird and beast Of the wood
was loud in their praise.
! Mamma" said young Tibbit, a
frisky young squirrel, one day, why
don't you let Frisky and go into that
| pretty new cottage to play"
| my dear" said the mother, who
was very careful old squirrel, chow
can you think of it? If you had wings
| like the butterflies and bees. you
might fly in and out again. but as
matters stand. it is best for you tc
keep well out of the way"
But, mother there is such a good
fairy lives there, and she seems to love
us: she sits in the window and catches
us for hours and she scatters corn al
around at the roots of the tree for us
to seat
"She Is we'll enough said the ole
mother squirrel, eff you keep fal
enough off, but you can't be too care
full"
Now this good fairy was nice little
| lady that the children used to cal
| Aunt Esther, and she was a dear lover
| Of birds and squirrels and all sorts OF
animals, and had studied their little
ways till she knew just what pleased
! them best. And so she would every day
/ throw out crumbs for the sparrows an(
little bits Of thread and wool and cot
ton to help the birds that were build
ing their nest and would scatter corr
and nuts for the squirrels.
] And en- If bllt how long tint