BIRD-LANGUAGE. 91 



him c hump 5 himself. It is not putting it too strong to 

 say that he was frantic. He dropped his ears, set up his 

 tail, and left for San Francisco at a speed which can only 

 be described as a flash and a vanish. Long after he was 

 out of sight we could hear him whiz." 



CHAPTER XV. 

 BIRD-LANGUAGE. 



1. ONE day, in the bluest of summer weather, 



Sketching under a whispering oak, 

 I heard five bobolinks laughing together 

 Over some ornithological joke. 



2. What the fun was I couldn't discover ; 



Language of birds is a riddle on earth ; 

 What could they find in white- weed and clover 

 To split their sides with such musical mirth ? 



3. Was it some prank of the prodigal summer, 



Face in the cloud or voice in the breeze, 

 Querulous cat-bird, woodpecker drummer, 

 Cawing of crows high over the trees ? 



4. Was it some chipmunk's chatter, or weasel 



Under the stone-wall stealthy and sly ? 

 Or was the joke about me at my easel, 

 Trying to catch the tints of the sky ? 



5. Still they flew tipsily, shaking all over, 



Bubbling with jollity, brimful of glee. 

 While I sat listening, deep in the clover, 

 Wondering what their jargon could be. 



