The Flying Squirrel 
     
    
   
   
    
     Squirrels were very plentiful in the woods and all about our place. 
     
     We liked to watch them do their smart tricks. We often pelted stones 
     
     at them but very seldom hit one. They would run up on the trees and 
     
     make a defiant little twitter or chatter as though they were laughing 
     
     at us, or calling us insulting names. Sometimes they would scold and 
     
     give great outbursts of indignation. They were the only animals we 
     
     had on the Island that stored up supplies for winter; they had very 
     
     little, if any, need of these stores; they could get plenty of nuts and 
     
     seeds on the trees for their needs, the cones of the spruce had juicy 
     
     seed they liked. Some people are hospitable and like to have some- 
     
     thing on hand when their friends and neighbours come to visit them. 
     
     But squirrels are not hospitable; they are more likely to steal from 
     
     their friends, than to treat them with their nice things. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The most wonderful and interesting squirrel was the flying squir- 
     
     rel; it has a beautiful glossy reddish brown fur, and large bright eyes. 
     
     It was rather a glider than a flyer; it could not fly up like a bird, but 
     
     it could glide. It has a fine soft loose skin, so attached to its legs that 
     
     when it spread its feet apart the skin would spread out like a skin on 
     
    
   
   
    
     a stretching board. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The squirrel would run up a tree and in jumping off would 
     
     spread its, feet, and extend its flat tail, and make itself flat as a pan- 
     
     cake. It would glide slightly downward to another tree and run up 
     
     and jump off again to another tree, or to the one fromwhich it start- 
     
     ed. It was amusing to watch these nimble little creatures; they seemed 
     
     to do these stunts for fun. It would be to them much the same as 
     
    
   
   
    
     coasting or tobagganing is to boys and girls. 
     
     Birds 
     
     The woods and seashore, near my home, were the home and re- 
     
     sort of a great variety of birds; some of these were native, or remain- 
     
     ed all winter. There were great flocks of crows. They had a rookery, 
     
    
   
   
    
     or roosting place near our farm and they made a great noise, but were 
     
    
   
   
    
     silent near their nests. We often got their eggs and young ones. The 
     
     young ones would get very attached to us; they would fly, or walk 
     
     about in the house and get on our heads and be very friendly. They 
     
    
   
   
    
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