IX 



JIMMY THE GOOSE 



ONE day late in April the boy saw a flock of geese 

 settle in the pond in the large woods pasture not 

 far from the river. This particular flock of geese had been 

 late in starting north, and as the farmers were already 

 busy putting in their crops, they were not bothered. The 

 boy alone knew of their arrival. As he watched them day 

 after day from his hiding place in the bushes, he began 

 hoping they might stay all summer. He had no gun and 

 was careful not to tell any one else of their presence. 



Every morning the members of the flock showed great 

 impatience with the leader because she persisted in stay- 

 ing about this pond; but as food was plenty and the days 

 were pleasant, by the time she was ready to lead them to 

 the nearby feeding grounds they had quite forgotten their 

 impatience and were glad to spend another day in the 

 green wheat field beyond the woods. Before the end of the 

 week one old goose and her gander had decided to remain 

 for the summer. After investigating every clump of bushes 

 and brushpile within a hundred yards of the pond, a place 

 was selected under some bushes in the corner of a rail 

 fence enclosing the pasture. A depression was wallowed 

 out in the earth and a little grass piled in it. When this 

 was lined with down and feathers it constituted the nest. 



When three or four days later the homesickness of the 

 leader of the flock who had been hatched here was some- 



