CHAPTER VI 



THE NEST IN THE OLD OAK 



' I "HE large nest, high up in the old 

 * oak, contained four green eggs. 

 For three weeks the two birds had been 

 taking their turns at sitting, and now 

 the nest contained four skinny little 

 birds, which devoted all their time, when 

 their mother was not covering them, to 

 raising their long necks, opening their 

 beaks and squeaking for food. 



That fine and magnificent old oak 

 looked out over a great tract of 

 country. It stood there when the farm- 

 land all round about was a wild moor, 

 over which kings hunted the wild stag. 

 For a number of years past the Crows 

 had made this tree their home, repair- 

 7 



