s the peace of some poor little squirrel
family.

Wild-cats, although they belong to the same great family as the quiet
little pussy which likes to sleep on the hearth-rug, are considered by
naturalists to be an entirely different species. They are much larger
than the domestic cat, and have a short, stubbed, and very bushy tail.
They are terrible enemies of birds and all the small inhabitants of the
forest, and will often attack animals larger than themselves. They pass
most of the day stretched out upon some large limb of a tree, sleeping,
after the fashion of cats, with one glistening eye always on the watch
for prey. At night they descend, and creep through the underbrush,
searching for food. They are very skillful at fishing, and are often
found near large ponds, where they watch not only for fish, but for all
kinds of water-birds which haunt the surrounding marshes.

They seldom attack men unless enraged or brought to bay. Woe to the
hunter who fires a careless shot, for the angry beast springs at him
with great fury, and inflicts fearful and sometimes even fatal wounds
with its sharp claws. It has no fear of dogs, and will pounce upon them,
sometimes killing them before the hunter can come to the rescue.
Tschudi, the Swiss naturalist, tells of a wounded wild-cat, which, lying
on its back, fought successfully with three large dogs, holding one fast
in its teeth, while with its claws it dealt powerful blows to the other
two, with singular instinct aiming at their eyes, until the hunter, by a
skillful shot, put an end to the conflict, killing the ferocious beast,
and relieving the poor dogs, which were nearly exhausted.

[Begun in No. 5 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, December 2.]

THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGEN AND NYCTERIS.

A Day and Night Maehrchen.

BY GEORGE MACDONALD.

XVIII.--REFUGE.--(_Continued._)

"You come, then, or I shall shut them," said Nycteris, "and you sha'n't
see them any more till you are good. Come. If you can't see the wild
beasts, I can."

"You can! and you ask me to come!" cried Photogen.

"Yes," answered Nycteris. "And more than that, I see them long before
they can see me, so that I am able to take care of you."

"But how?" persisted Photogen. "You can't shoot with bow and arrow, or
stab with a hunting knife."

"No, but I can keep out of the way of them all. Why, just when I found
you, I was having a game with two or three of them at once. I see, and
scent them too, long before t