The furry animal stood on the table in the midst of the toys.  He sat up on his hind legs and seemed to be eating something that he held in his forepaws.

“Are you a cat?” asked the Noah’s Ark Camel, sort of making his two humps shiver.

“No, I’m not a cat,” was the answer.  “I am a Chattering Squirrel, and I am eating a nut.  I live in a hollow tree just outside this house, and, seeing a window open and all you toys on the table, I jumped in to see what fun you were having.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” said the Nodding Donkey politely.  “We are glad to see you.  But even I was scared, at first.  We were just talking among ourselves while the lame boy is away.  He was playing circus with us.”

[Illustration:  “We Are Glad to See You,” Said the Nodding Donkey.
  Page 73]

“I know the lame boy,” said the Chattering Squirrel.  “He is very kind to me.  He puts nuts out for me to eat.  I am eating one now.  Will you have a nibble?” and the squirrel held out the nut to the Nodding Donkey.

“No, thank you; I don’t eat nuts,” returned the new toy.

“I eat other things, too,” went on the Squirrel.  “I take them right out of the lame boy’s hand, and I never nip him, for I like him and he likes me.  I am sorry he is lame.”

“So am I,” said the Nodding Donkey.  “I felt sorry for him when he looked in the store window of Mr. Mugg’s shop, and I nodded to him so that he smiled.  But hush!  Here he comes now!”

And this time it was the lame boy and his mother coming back into the room where the Nodding Donkey and the Noah’s Ark toys had been left on the table.  Instantly each toy became stark and stiff and no longer moved or spoke.  But the Chattering Squirrel, not being a toy, could do as he pleased.  So he frisked his tail and nibbled the nut.

“Oh, Mother!  See!  There is Frisky, my tame Squirrel!” cried Joe.  “He must have come in through the window to see my Nodding Donkey.  Hello, Frisky!” cried the lame boy, and then when he put down his hand the Chattering Squirrel scrambled across the table and let Joe rub his soft fur.

“I guess he is looking for something to eat,” said Mrs. Richmond, with a smile.  “He wants his supper, as you want yours, Joe, and as your father will, as soon as he gets home.  You had better put away your toys now—­your Nodding Donkey and the Noah’s Ark animals—­and get ready for supper.  I think there are a few more nuts left which you may give Frisky.”

“Oh, he’ll love those, Mother!” cried Joe.  And when he had put away his toys he brought out some more nuts for the Squirrel, who liked them very much.

The Nodding Donkey was put up on the mantel shelf in the dining room, but the Noah’s Ark toys, being older, were set aside in a closet.

“I want Daddy to see my Donkey as soon as he comes in,” said Joe, and he waited for his father.  Soon Mr. Richmond’s step was heard in the hall, and Joe hobbled on his crutches to meet him.  Frisky, the Chattering Squirrel, had skipped out of the open window in the kitchen as soon as he had eaten the nuts Joe gave him.