LADY JANE THE SWAN 67 



much consultation a pair of swans wallowed a shallow de- 

 pression in the earth under one of these bushes, lined it 

 with rushes, weeds, and grass, and inside this built a nest 

 of softest down plucked from the mother's own body. Here 

 was deposited a great white egg larger than the largest 

 goose egg. The next day the other pair set up house- 

 keeping under a bush not ten feet away. Every other 

 day the mother swans laid an egg until there were eight in 

 each nest, when they settled down to brood their eggs. For 

 thirty days the mothers spent most of their time sitting on 

 the nest dreaming the dreams of any normal mother, slip- 

 ping off only for a short time every day to gather a 

 hasty meal from the steaming waters, while their discon- 

 solate mates spent much of the time loitering about look- 

 ing like a married man in a department store on bargain 

 day. 



Tho the mother left the nest for only a few minutes, 

 she always saw to it that the eggs were covered with down 

 to keep them warm and that enough grass and reeds were 

 scattered over all so to make the nest look like any other 

 spot on the island; for she welj knew that when a wild- 

 ling leaves her nest there is no knowing how long she 

 may be compelled to delay her return, and there is no 

 telling what prowling thief may visit the spot in her 

 absence. 



One day early in May Dad Oswalt, as he was riding 

 past the lake, was surprized to see a swan fly out of the 

 tall rushes and a number of fluffy balls of down scurry to 

 cover as fast as their little legs could paddle over the 

 water. He had no time to stop, but registered a vow that 

 he would realize a lifetime ambition of owning a pet 

 swan. Not many days afterward he took the boy and rode 



