his sister, "the poor things are not dead, only
wounded and in pain!"

They all instantly ceased firing, and Mr. Lee looked on the bleeding
birds scattered around, with the regretful feeling that he had bought a
few minutes' amusement at a great expense of suffering. Uncle John and
Tom, however, only thought of pigeon-pies, and went to work to put the
sufferers out of their misery, and prepare them for cooking.

A few days after this memorable morning, the children and Uncle John set
out for a regular nutting excursion; Annie had made great bags for their
gatherings, and Mrs. Lee provided a fine pigeon-pie for their dinner;
Tom took charge of it, his sister of Georgy, and Uncle John carried his
constant companion on a ramble--his good rifle. By noon they had gone
more than three miles into the depths of the forest; their bags were
nearly filled, and Tom began to grumble at the weight of the pie, so
that when they reached a pleasant open spot near a spring, it was at
once decided that they should dine there. They spread their little store
on the ground, adding to it some bunches of grapes from the vines
around, and then sat down with excellent appetites and the merriest of
tempers.

"I am never tired of watching the squirrels!" cried Annie, who had been
looking for some time at the lively little animals scampering in the
trees; "just look what funny little things those are!"

"The young ones are just old enough now to eat the nuts and berries,"
replied Uncle John; "see how they are feasting!"

"Where do they live, uncle; in a hole?" asked George.

"Oh, George! where are your eyes!" cried his brother; "look up there;
don't you see the little mud and twig cabins at the very top of the
tree! those are their nests!"

"I once read an interesting story," remarked Uncle John, "of a squirrel
that tried to kill himself; would you like to hear it?"

"Oh yes, uncle!" they all cried in a breath.

"Well, this squirrel was very ill-treated by his companions; they used
to scratch and bite him, and jump on him till they were tired, while he
never offered to resist, but cried in the most heart-rending manner. One
young squirrel, however, was his secret friend, and whenever an
opportunity offered of doing it without being seen, would bring him nuts
and fruits. This friend was detected one day by the others, who rushed
in dozens to punish him, but he succeeded in escaping from them by
jumping to the highest perch of the tree, wh