It is only the Indians and hunters who know
how to trap them, and beavers are not so plentiful as they used to
be."
Mrs. Frazer would have told Lady Mary a great deal about the way
in which the trappers take the beavers, but the little girl interrupted
her by saying, "Please, nurse, will you tell me the name of your pretty
pet? Ah, sweet thing, what bright eyes you have!" she added, caressing
the soft little head which was just seen from beneath the folds of
the muslin handkerchief to which it timidly nestled, casting furtive
glances at the admiring child, while the panting of its breast told
the mortal terror that shook its frame whenever the little girl's hand
was advanced to coax its soft back.
[Illustration: THE FLYING SQUIRREL]
"It is a flying squirrel, Lady Mary," replied her nurse; "one of my
brothers caught it a month ago, when he was chopping in the forest.
He thought it might amuse your ladyship, and so he tamed it and sent
it to me in a basket filled with moss, with some acorns, and
hickory-nuts, and beech-mast for him to eat on his journey, for the
little fellow has travelled a long way: he came from the beech-woods
near the town of Coburg, in the Upper Province."
"And where is Coburg, nurse? Is it a large city like Montreal or
Quebec?"
"No, my lady; it is a large town on the shores of the great Lake
Ontario.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25