136 STORIES OF BIRD LIFE 



his heart the love he bore for living nature. He was soothed 

 by the quiet morning, and the warming sunshine; by the 

 dew on the cornfield, and the whistle of the partridge 

 ringing through the air, while memories of other days 

 floated through his mind. 



The farmer's son also heard the note and paused to 

 listen as he saddled his horse. He too smiled, but thought 

 of the autumn and the time for dogs and guns. Perhaps 

 the old barred owl in his hollow hickory in the bottom 

 land woods drowsily heard the sound and twisted his wise 

 old face into a smile, and licked the inside of his bill at 

 the thoughts which came before he dozed off again into 

 dreamland. 



There was still another that heard the whistle. This 

 was a plump female partridge on the ground not far away. 

 Whether she smiled is not recorded, for she remained 

 hidden in the grass and admiringly watched the splendid 

 appearance of the figure on the fence. Quietly she an- 

 swered in the low, ladylike manner of her sex. For half 

 an hour the partridge on the rail remained at his post, call- 

 ing and indulging in much self-satisfied strutting, which 

 showed the brilliancy of his feathers to good advantage. 

 Then, the dew having partially dried, he flew down and 

 led his mate away through the grass and beneath the over- 

 hanging leaves of the growing corn. By bounteous atten- 



