ate the chestnuts, or scampered over the roof just above
David's head, and made a great racket.

They were great fat fellows with warm, thick fur, not much like the
squirrels on Boston Common, but they got almost as tame with David,
although he never could get quite near enough to one to pat it. That
was better, for the squirrel might have bitten David.

David used to try to get near them, but he always told his cat to stay
at home when he was going after them, for the squirrels were afraid of
his cat.

One morning in the fall David had gone after the squirrels. There were
a great many squirrels about, for the chestnuts had begun to fall, and
the squirrels were very busy.

And David had got farther and farther from his house, but he was where
he could see the road.

And he heard the rattle of a wagon, and he looked and saw a very
spick-and-span new wagon, painted red, with yellow and black stripes
on it, and the wheels were flashing in the sun as they turned.

On the wagon were ladders and long slender poles, and four men were
riding on it.

The wagon stopped, and the men got off. One of the men took a halter
out of the wagon and tied the horse to a tree, while the others took
off the ladders.

Then each man took one of the long, slender poles, and a big can and a
little can. And they took the ladders on their shoulders and held them
with one hand, and the poles in the other hand, and the handles of the
cans in that other hand, too, and they began to walk right to where
David was.

[Illustration: THE TREE-MEN]

And all the squirrels heard them coming, and they stopped eating
chestnuts, and each squirrel scurried to a tree, with his chestnut in
his mouth, and he scrambled up the tree, on the opposite side of the
trunk from the men, so that the men couldn't see him.

They scrambled up the trunks very fast, until they came to a branch;
and each squirrel sat on his branch, next to the trunk, and made a
sort of a scolding, barking noise, and every time he made the noise
his tail gave a queer little jerk.

David was watching them, and he heard their noises, and he couldn't
help laughing to see their tails jerk.

And then the men were there, and they saw David laughing.

"Hello," said one of the men. "What's so funny?"

"I was laughing at the squirrels," David said; "they make their tails
go."

"Yes," said the man, "I hear them, and I see some of them. How they do
scold! But we wouldn't hurt them."

He