152 STORIES OF BIRD LIFE 



Near the spot where two of them pitched was the home 

 of a gopher turtle, a hole dug deep in the earth by this 

 land reptile of the Southern pine woods. A gray fox, ex- 

 hausted with speeding before the fire came panting by; 

 it saw the hole, paused a moment, then crept far down its 

 darkened course. The two birds, moved by some impulse, 

 followed their dreaded enemv into the earth for a yard or 

 more, and crouched trembling in the sand. 



A moment later the fire wolves swept over them with 

 their awful fierceness, sending down their hot breath 

 threateningly into the gopher's hole. For a moment the 

 birds' lives swayed in the balance, then the fire passed on 

 and they were saved. 



Again the land throbs with the life of springtime. The 

 heavy dew rests on the corn blades and grass, while ring- 

 ing through orchard and forest floats the whistle of a bob- 

 white. The farmer hearkens with joy to the well known 

 call, but the memory of Nature's inexorable law of the 

 birds comes forcibly to his mind, for of all the partridges 

 of his farm the summer before, but a single pair remains. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 



What do people call bobwhites where you live? How do men catch those 

 you see alive in market? Do you think a bobwhite has to watch out for 

 dangers more than you do? What color are the eggs and how many are 

 found in a nest? Do you ever see bobwhites perched on trees? Why do you 

 suppose the fox did not try to catch those which went into the gopher hole 

 with him? 



