A White Squirrel
White squirrels had often been reported in the neighbourhood ; in one copse, many years ago, they were said to have made a colony. It was not until these notes were about to be written that I saw what at first looked like the light spring of a pure white fluff-tailed kitten. As it crossed the road, ran along the fence among a tangle of almost black branches of holly and then leapt for the dark trunk of an oak, out of the sun, its whiteness gave it a look of extraordinary airy and lovely fragility. Clinging to the oak-trunk, it looked for a moment like a creature of thistledown. The eyes were like minute buds of pink. I moved a little to get a better view of it, but when I looked again there was nothing to be seen but a white tail, blown swiftly upward among the maze of oak-leaves into the sun.
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