New Britain herald., 1916-12-20

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 9 flash and scampered away a few
 feet. Well he knew corn did not
 grow on the mountain, and, perhaps
 he was aware the nearest farm was
 as much as three miles away. How
 did that corn, so much corn and
 good, clean corn get into a hollow
 stump where it was protected from
 the snow and rain? He was suspi- !. cious and believed man was to be
 held accountable for it and that it
 was placed there for a cruel pur-
 pose To enter and partake of the
 tempting food meant to be captured
 in a trap or be killed. He did not
 relish any such thought and he scur-
 ried up a hemlOck tree, perched him.
 self on lofty branch and voiced his
 disapprOval in a series of barking
 and chatterng. But his curiosity
 had been aroused and he soon came
 head foremost down the trunk to the
 ground.
 At the foot of the tree he paused to
 pick up tWig which he nervously
 nibbled. Casting the tWig aside he
 ventured forward toward the stump,
 stopping now and then to vigorously
 push something into the dead leaves
 with his paws, or to sit up and listen for danger Arriving at the entrance
 of the hollow stump he imagined he
 had bite back of an ear which
 needed considerable scratching. At last, becoming bold, he put his head into the opening and again viewed the golden corn. Dare he take just one kernel? He scratched his neck, sniffed of the corn, gave low growl and bark snatched a piece and leaped outward and on to the stump. How his heart pounded. Realizing that nothing had happened to him he sat up on his launches and turned the kernel over and over in his paws, all the time keeping a sharp lookout for danger. When he tasted of the corn he realized it was good and proceeded to eat the heart out of it. With what joy he went to get a sec ond and third piece. No longer did he bother his head over how the corn got there-enough to know it was there, and plenty of it, and that It was his. He was a happy squir- l rel.
 Then I pictured I saw the ground covered with deep snow and that a ! COCK ruffed grouse was attempting to !! scratch for food beneath an oak tree 1 SiooO snow was not quite so heavy He ! could not dig through the snow very ] successfully, so he sampled buds on i nearby bushes. In his quest for l to satisfy the inner bird. i he went close to the brush heap, and, 1 To, what did he behold, but a large 1 open space under the pile of branch es-a regular shelter, and scattered l 9 abundance of grain. And not only ! that, but suspended from the roof of l this haven were several big ears of | dried corn, not so high but what | D grouse could easily peck the ker- l nelS from the cObs. The thought i never dawned upon him and he en- tered unafraid and ate his fill. He | voiced his approval of this bird sanctuary in such terms that it must 1 have fell upon the ears of others of | his kind, for straight in the direction of the shelter like bullets two birds flew with a whir-r-r-r-r.
 I must have dozed for when I opened my eyes the fire had burned 1 down quite a bit and instead of the weather being calm the wind was blowing considerable. To build a camp in the open in December one must select a we'll protected place or suffer the consequences. My lean to was in a hollow where the wind | would be little felt and my fire was made against a rock ledge close by so I would get all the heat possible. 1 arose and threw some wood on the | fire and as soon as it blaZed up I | put on a couple of good sized logs. 1 Taking off my outer coat I folded | 1t to serve as a pillow, pulled my cap l well down upon my head, wrapped 1 myself up in two woolen blankets, | Indian fashion, and lay down upon 1 some hemlock bOughs within my l shelter for a good sleep.
 On the morrow would be the 24th, eve, and I would make @ few more Yuletide gifts to the wood-