126 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



" Some say that they destroy the raven because he is 

 black, others because his croaking is unpleasant. As for 

 me, I admire the raven because I see so much in him to 

 excite our wonder." 



Hour by hour Mrs. Audubon stood over Victor. 



One morning he sat up, and the doctor pronounced 

 him " out of danger, with care." 



He took him to the veranda. A few drops of rain 

 were falling, cooling the air. 



" Mother," said Victor, " you have been true to your 

 own. I can see my life now — I must learn to paint, that 

 I may continue father's work in the future. I have been 

 brought back for this purpose; I will make my forest life 

 an education, and we will be true to each other and to 

 what we have been given to do." 



He called for stories, and his father told them under 

 the cooling trees that leaned over the roof of the forest 

 house. 



LISTENING TO THE TREE 



Among the many stories that Audubon used to relate 

 of the insect-destroying birds is one that Victor loved to 

 hear. It well illustrates his habits of observation. 



He had been told at Louisville, Ky., that there was a cer- 

 tain large tree like a chimney in which a cloud of swallows 

 spent the night. He determined to listen to this tree when 

 the swallows came home. 



