. The trial to the woods. ly, and a pair of pert robins scold awayat the intruder, just as though they owned the pas-ture and had put up trespass signs. Sometimesthey find overripe berries lying on the ground wherethey have fallen, or frequently they perch upon thebramble, and eat directly from the bush. The writer once owned a hunting dog who wouldstand up on his hind legs and rattle blackberriesinto his mouth, as a bear would pick when his paw hit a thorn, he wouldlook quite quizzical, as much as to say, Now, whatdoes that mean? It certainly was not a wasp. In an old
. The trial to the woods. ly, and a pair of pert robins scold awayat the intruder, just as though they owned the pas-ture and had put up trespass signs. Sometimesthey find overripe berries lying on the ground wherethey have fallen, or frequently they perch upon thebramble, and eat directly from the bush. The writer once owned a hunting dog who wouldstand up on his hind legs and rattle blackberriesinto his mouth, as a bear would pick when his paw hit a thorn, he wouldlook quite quizzical, as much as to say, Now, whatdoes that mean? It certainly was not a wasp. In an old maple stub at the center of the pastureare two families of flickers, or yellow-hammers, asthe boy calls them. The tree has been piercedin a dozen places by this curious woodchopper, andone would judge from the holes was awhole colony. The boy likes to steal up to thetree and drum on the trunk with a stone, and thensee the yellow-hammers come out and go flyingacross the pasture. This does not frighten the birds. Young Flickers, from Life [SJ I2C much, and it affords the boy considerable amuse-ment. This wide-eyed urchin knows all the wood-pecker family, the red-crested, the red-breasted, theyellow-bellied, and all the rest. By the aid of such diversions as these the after-noon wears away, and the berries in the pail nearthe top. He never could fill the pail if he did notstop occasionally, or so he thinks. There is ablack ring around his mouth. He would say thathe had not eaten more than one or two handfuls ifyou were to ask him. But I am afraid that quartswould be nearer the truth. This also he deemsnecessary to picking, for it continually reminds himwhat delicious fruit he is gathering, and causes himto renew his efforts. He can do very well when he is alone, and usuallycomes home with a full pail, but if Ned Fuller orTom Hawley are along it makes all the differencein the world. It seems strange that three activeboys cannot pick faster than one, but the truth isthat
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidcu3192, booksubjectanimals
