Nimble,
who was always the first to take care of himself, gave the alarm, and
he and Velvet-paw, being nearest to the hole, got off safely; but poor
Silvy had the ill luck to sneeze, and before she had time to hide herself,
the angry red squirrel sprang upon her, and gave her such a terrible
cuffing and scratching, that Silvy cried out for mercy. As to Nimble-foot
and Velvet-paw, they paid no heed to her cries for help; they ran away,
and left her to bear the blame of all their misdeeds as well as her
own. Thieves are always cowards, and are sure to forsake one another
when danger is nigh.
The angry red squirrel pushed poor Silvy out of her granary, and she was
glad to crawl away and hide herself in a hole at the root of a
neighbouring tree, where she lay in great pain and terror, licking her
wounds and crying to think how cruel it was of her brother and sister to
leave her to the mercy of the red squirrel. It was surely very cowardly of
Nimble-foot and Velvet-paw to forsake her in such a time of need; nor was
this the only danger that befell poor Silvy. One morning, when she put her
nose out of the hole to look about her before venturing out, she saw
seated on a branch, close beside the tree she was under, a racoon, staring
full at her with his sharp cunning black eyes.
Pages:
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56