. Fowls of the air . e lit on the ground close by, and ^///oo/eeF turned his head sidewise to look at us curi- ^jCiffk ously. I tossed him a big crumb, which V6/ce ™^^^ ^™ ^^^ away m fright; but when he thought we were not looking he stole back, touched, tasted, ate the whole of it. And when I threw him another crumb, he hopped to meet it. After that he came regularly to meals, andwould look critically over the tin plate whichI placed at my feet, and pick and choosedaintily from the cracker and trout andbacon and porridge which I offered he began to take bits away with him,and I could
. Fowls of the air . e lit on the ground close by, and ^///oo/eeF turned his head sidewise to look at us curi- ^jCiffk ously. I tossed him a big crumb, which V6/ce ™^^^ ^™ ^^^ away m fright; but when he thought we were not looking he stole back, touched, tasted, ate the whole of it. And when I threw him another crumb, he hopped to meet it. After that he came regularly to meals, andwould look critically over the tin plate whichI placed at my feet, and pick and choosedaintily from the cracker and trout andbacon and porridge which I offered he began to take bits away with him,and I could hear him, just inside the fringeof underbrush, persuading his mate to cometoo and share his plate. But she was muchshyer than he; it was several days before Inoticed her flitting in and out of the shadowyunderbrush; and when I tossed her the firstcrumb, she flew away in a terrible , however, Killooleet persuaded herthat we were kindly, and she came often tomeals; but she would never come near, to. eat from my tin plate, till after I had goneaway. Never a day now passed that one or both TiUlooleef,of the birds did not rest on my tent. When ^^^^^.I put my head out, like a turtle out of his Voiceshell, in the early morning, to look at theweather, Killooleet would look down fromthe projecting end of the ridgepole and singgood-morning. And when I had been outlate on the lake, night-fishing, or followingthe inlet for beaver, or watching the grassypoints for caribou, or just drifting alongshore silently to catch the night sounds and•smells of the woods, I would listen witheager anticipation for Killooleets welcomeas I approached the landing. He hadlearned to recognize the sounds of my com-ing, the rub of a careless paddle, the rippleof water under the bow, or the grating ofpebbles on the beach; and with Simmoasleep and the fire low, it was good to bewelcomed back by a cheery little voice inthe darkness; for he always sang when heheard me. Sometimes I would try t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
