54 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



more, so he would have been only a source of worry had he 

 stayed about home. His wife, because of sitting, escaped 

 this midsummer molt. 



But when, in twenty eight days, his wife led ten 

 ducklings to the water's edge, Johnnie's cup of happiness 

 was full to the brim. Perhaps because of his train- 

 ing on the farm, he joined her at once and together 

 they swam away through the reeds and rushes bent on 

 finding the best feeding grounds for the youngsters. An 

 old hawk that was nesting in a great tree at the upper end 

 of the lake had been watching for some days for just such 

 an event, and her keen eye caught sight of the procession as 

 it swam down the lake. With a cry of exultation she flew 

 toward them, feeling confident she was soon to dine on 

 warm duck. The mother duck had been trained from 

 babyhood to be on the lookout for danger on every hand 

 and she saw the danger approaching first and with a sharp 

 ''quack, quack'' of warning to the little ones, who led by that 

 strange instinct that tells the wildling what to do as soon as 

 he is out of the egg, scurried away to hide under the bushes. 

 Not knowing what else to do, Johnnie followed and from 

 his hiding place saw the great hawk swoop down to catch 

 his beloved mate. She was on the alert and just as the 

 hawk was within an ace of striking her, she struck the water 

 with her wings and threw up a shower of water, deluging 

 him and disappeared beneath the water to come up a hun- 

 dred feet away ready to renew the struggle when the hawk 

 struck again. After this was repeated three or four times 

 and the wild mother felt sure the bewildered hawk had lost 

 all thought of the family, she dived and came up in a 

 clump of cat-tails out of sight of the hawk. The baffled hawk 

 flew back to his lookout at the upper end of the lake and 



