IN THE SHETLANDS 241 
way amongst the rocks at the bottom, and was strug- 
gling and flapping its wings to escape, as it lay flat 
along one of them. Another puffin was standing 
beside it, and whilst I looked it took hold of the dis- 
tressed one’s wing and, as it seemed to me, pulled at it 
as though trying to assist, but in a feeble half-knowing 
sort of way, which had its pathos. But here, too, 
how careful one should be in attributing motives, 
either to birds or men; for this puffin may merely 
have taken hold of its companion’s wing, as I have 
seen others do whilst standing together at their ease. 
If so, then the action was not prompted by any idea of 
aiding, but merely by general good-will, unsharpened 
by a proper realisation of what had taken place. Here, 
once again, was a flapping wing, which may have sug- 
gested no more to the mind of the bird taking hold of 
it than it had upon other occasions. Not that I think 
this myself, but in the little I saw there was no cer- 
tainty. Unfortunately, I startled away the helper (as 
I like to think of him) and this to no purpose, since 
after various attempts to get to the distressed puffin I 
had to give it up, for though I might have reached it 
there seemed a likelihood, if I did, of my having to 
remain there indefinitely in its place. To slide down 
a steep rock is one thing, but to climb up it again 
quite another—nor was there any other way that I 
could see of getting back when once at the bottom. 
Some time afterwards, however, I could not see the 
bird, so, though I purposely did not look very closely, 
I am glad to think that it had got free. 
R 
