little creature was passing from one of these to
the other, in search, no doubt, of the berries that remain upon these
trees all the winter. Sometimes it ran from point to point like any
other mouse, but now and then it would rear itself on its hind-legs, and
leap several feet at a single bound! In this it evidently assisted
itself by pressing its tail--in which it possesses muscular
power--against the snow. This peculiar mode of progression has obtained
for it the name of the "jumping-mouse," and among the Indians
"deer"-mouse, because its leap reminds them of the bounding spring of
the deer. But there are still other species of "jumping-mice" in America
that possess this power to a greater degree even than the _Mus
leucopus_.

Lucien watched its motions without attempting to interfere with it,
until it had got nearly out of sight. He did not desire to do injury to
the little creature, nor was he curious to obtain it, as he had already
met with many specimens, and examined them to his satisfaction. He had
ceased to think of it, and would, perhaps, never have thought of it
again, but, upon turning his eyes in the opposite direction, he observed
another animal upon the snow. This creature had a far different aspect
from the mouse. Its body was nearly a foot in length, although not much
thicker than that of the other! Its legs were short, but strong, and its
forehead broad and arched convexly. It had a tail more than half the
length of the body, hairy, and tapering like that of a cat. Its form was
the well-known form of the weasel, and it was, in fact, a species of
weasel.

It was the celebrated _ermine_, celebrated for its soft and beautiful
fur, so long prized as an ornament for the robes of the rich. It was
white all over, with the exception of its tail; and that, for about an
inch or so at the tip, was covered with black silky hair. On some parts
of the body, too, the white was tinged with a primrose yellow; but this
tinge is not found in all animals of this species, as some individuals
are pure white. Of course it was now in its winter "robes"; but in the
summer it changes to a colour that does not differ much from that of the
common weasel.

When Lucien first saw it, it was running along the top of the wreath,
and coming from the same direction from which the mouse had come. Now
and then it paused awhile, and then ran on again. Lucien observed that
it kept its nose to the ground, and as it drew nearer he saw tha