THE NEST IN THE OLD OAK 103 



approaching did it attempt to rise. It 

 beat the ground hard with its wings, 

 and struggled after the two old birds, 

 for as a final attempt they had given 

 out a loud note of alarm, and even a 

 baby Crow knows that that means it is 

 time to shift. He saw his parents high 

 above him, circling around, but he was 

 low down, and however much he beat 

 those wings of his he did not seem to 

 get much higher. He dashed towards a 

 tree, and by a great stroke of luck landed 

 on a tough branch; still panting and 

 with all the pluck knocked out of him, 

 he waited until he heard the loud krraar 

 of his father. Before the evening came 

 on he managed to use his wings fairly 

 successfully, and he roosted in a neigh- 

 bouring oak on a branch which swayed 

 to and fro ; and before the sun rose, and 

 while it was quite dark, he managed to 

 fall off his rather insecure stand, and fell, 

 a scared bunch of feathers, to the ground 



