36 



Hints to Atidubon Workers. 



Do you say the birds are gone, the leaves 

 have fallen, the bare branches rattle and the 

 fall rains have blackened the trees ? What 

 does he care? All this makes him rejoice ! 

 The merry chickadee hears his shrill call 

 above the moaning of the wind and the 

 rattling of the branches, for our alchemist 

 is turning to his lichen workshop. The 

 sealed book whose pictures are seen only 

 by children and wood fairies opens at his 

 touch. The black unshaded tree trunks 

 turn into enchanted lichen palaces, rich with 

 green and gold of every varying tint. The 

 "pert fairies and the dapper elves" have 

 left their magic circles in the grass, and 

 trip lightly around the green, velvety moss 

 mounds so well suited for the throne of 

 their queen. Here they find the tiny 

 moss spears Lowell christened, "Arthurian 

 lances," and quickly arm themselves for 

 deeds of fairy valor. Here, too, are dainty 

 silver goblets from which they can quaff the 

 crystal globes that drop -one by one from 

 the dark moss high on the trees after rain. 

 And there — what wonders in fern tracery, 

 silver filigree and coral, for the fairy Guine- 

 vere ! 



But hark! the children are coming — and 

 off the grave magician flies to watch their 

 play from behind a neighboring tree trunk. 

 There they come, straight to his workshop, 

 and laugh in glee at the white chips he has 

 scattered on the ground. They are in 

 league with the fairies, too, and cast magic 

 spells over all they see. They spy the up- 

 turned roots of a fallen tree. It is a moun- 

 tain! And up they clamber, to overlook 

 their little world. And that pool left by the 

 fall rains. Ha! It is a lake! And away 

 they go, to cross it bravely on a bridge of 

 quaking moss. As they pass under the 

 shadow of a giant hemlock, and pick up 

 cones for playthings, the pile of dark red 

 sawdust at the foot of the tree catches their 

 eye, and they stand open-mouthed as the 

 oldest child tells of a long ant procession 

 she saw there one day, and how each tiny 



worker came to the door to drop its borings 

 from its jaws. How big their eyes get at the 

 story! If the woodpecker could only give 

 the yellow hammer's sequel to it! But soon 

 they have found a new delight. A stem of 

 basswood seeds whirls through the air to 

 their feet. They all scramble for it. What 

 a pity they have no string! The last one 

 they found was a kite and a spinning air- 

 top for a day's play. But this — never mind 

 — there it goes up in the air dancing and 

 whirling like a gay young fairy treading the 

 mazes with the wind. "How pretty! Just 

 see this piece of moss!" And so they go 

 through the woods, till the brown beech 

 leaves shake with their laughter, and the 

 gray squirrels look out of their round win- 

 dows in the tree trunks to see who goes by, 

 and the absorbed magician — who can tell 

 how much fun he steals from his lofty post 

 of observation, to make him content with 

 his stub ! 



Why should he fly south when every 

 day brings him some secret of the woods, 

 or some scene like this that his philoso- 

 pher's stone can turn to happiness ? Let 

 us proclaim him the sage of the birds ! If 

 he could only talk ! The children would 

 gather about him for tales of the wood 

 sprites; the student of trees would learn 

 facts and figures enough to store a book; 

 and the mechanic! Just watch him once 

 as he works ! 



A master of his trade, he has various 

 methods. One day in September he flew 

 past me with a loud scream, and when I 

 came up to him was hard at work excavat- 

 ing. His claws were fast in the bark on the 

 edge of the hole, and he seemed to be half 

 clinging to it, half lying against it. His stiff 

 tail quills helped to brace him against the 

 tree, and he drilled straight down, making 

 the bark fly with his rapid strokes. When 

 the hole did not clear itself with his blows 

 he would give a quick scrape with his bill 

 and drill away again. Suddenly he stopped, 

 picked up something, and flew up on a 



