Mrs. Frazer, if you like, I will sit down on this
cushion by you and read some of my new book. It does not seem very
hard."
Then Mrs. Frazer took out her work-basket and sat down to sew, and Lady
Mary began to read the little story, which, I hope, may entertain my
little readers as much as it did the Governor's daughter.
* * * * *
PART I
THE HISTORY OF A SQUIRREL FAMILY.
[Illustration: LADY MARY READING HER PICTURE-BOOK.]
It must be a pleasant thing to be a squirrel, and live a life of freedom
in the boundless forests; to leap and bound among the branches of the
tall trees, to gambol in the deep shade of the cool glossy leaves,
through the long warm summer day; to gather the fresh nuts and berries;
to drink the pure dews of heaven, all bright and sparkling from the
opening flowers; to sleep on soft beds of moss and thistle-down in
some hollow branch rocked by the wind as in a cradle. Yet, though this
was the happy life led by a family of pretty gray squirrels that had
their dwelling in the hoary branch of an old oak-tree that grew on
one of the rocky islands in a beautiful lake in Upper Canada, called
_Stony Lake_ (because it was full of rocky islands), these little
creatures were far from being contented, and were always wishing for a
change.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37