Bannertail / The Story of a Graysquirrel by Ernest Thompson Seton :
Ernest Thompson Seton
language
(, June 5, 2013)
BANNERTAIL THE STORY OF A GRAYSQUIRREL With 100 Drawingsby Ernest Thompson SetonAuthor of Wild Animals I have Known, Trail of the Sandhill Stag,Biography of a Grizzly, Lives of the Hunted, Monarch The Big BearFOREWORDThese are the ideas that I have aimed to set forth in this tale.1st. That although an animal is much helped by its mother's teaching, it owes still more to the racial teaching, which is instinct, and can make a success of life without its mothers guidance, if only it can live through the dangerous time of infancy and early life.2d. Animals often are tempted into immoralityâby which I mean, any habit or practice that would in its final working, tend to destroy the race. Nature has rigorous ways of dealing with such.3d. Animals, like ourselves, must maintain ceaseless war against insect parasitesâor perish.4th. In the nut forests of America, practically every tree was planted by the Graysquirrel, or its kin. No squirrels, no nut-trees.These are the motive thoughts behind my woodland novel. I hope I have presented them convincingly; if not, I hope at least you have been entertained by the romance.Ernest Thompson SetonILLUSTRATIONSHis kittenhoodBaffling Fire-eyesThey twiddled whiskers good nightWith an angry "Quare!" Silvergray scrambled up againThe little squirrels at schoolCray sankâa victim to his follyA dangerous gameThe battle with the BlacksnakeCONTENTS1. The Foundling2. His Kittenhood3. The Red Horror4. The New and Lonely Life5. The Fluffing of His Tail6. The First Nut Crop7. The Sun Song of Bannertail8. The Cold Sleep9. The Balking of Fire-eyes10. Redsquirrel, the Scold of the Woods11. Bannertail and the Echo Voice12. The Courting of Silvergray13. The Home in the High Hickory14. New Rivals15. Bachelor Life Again16. The Warden Meets an Invader17. The Hoodoo on the Home18. The New Home19. The Moving of the Young20. The Coming-out Party21. Nursery Days of the Young Ones22. Cray Hunts for Trouble23. The Little Squirrels Go to School24. The Lopping of the Wayward Branch25. Bannertail Falls into a Snare26. The Addict27. The Dregs of the Cup28. The Way of Destruction29. Mother Carey's Lash30. His Awakening31. The Unwritten Law32. Squirrel Games33. When Bannertail Was Scarred for Life34. The Fight with the Black Demon35. The Property Law among Animals36. Gathering the Great Nut Harvest37. And To-day