52 



The other (jrows all know as well as he does that he 

 cannot eat this unless he settle down and secure it with 

 his feet. They determine that he shall not do this, he 

 declares he will. The game thus resolves itself into a 

 bet between the holder and the rest of the players. 

 He bets them he will swallow the toast, they bet him 

 he won't. They chase him from tree to tree. After 

 a little he secures a lead, alights, places a foot on 

 the toast and tries to get a peck at it, but before he 

 can do this his pursuers are upon him. He hurriedly 

 snatches up the toast and again takes to his wings. 

 Eventually he drops the bone of contention, there- 

 upon another bird, taking up the bet, secures the toast 

 and in turn becomes the chased. Before the game 

 is over that piece of toast will have changed hands 

 fifteen or twenty times. With each transfer it becomes 

 more and more battered about, until, I suppose, it 

 eventually becomes sufficiently small and sufficiently 

 soft to be swallowed at a gulp. The swallower then 

 retires and is presently seized with indigestion while 

 the rest of the crows go off and play some other 

 game. One piece of toast will amuse twenty crows 

 for at least an hour. 



