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THE LAKE IN THE VALLEY 135 



had gone, the Coot slipped off her nest, 

 crept quietly through the reeds, and 

 approaching the Grebes' nest, she mounted 

 this and viciously attacked it, and in 

 a very few moments she had torn it to 

 pieces. She tossed the egg out, scratched 

 at the rather loose structure with her 

 feet, pulled the wet weeds apart with her 

 beak, and did not stop until she heard 

 the swish of wings beating the water. 

 But before the Grebes could return she 

 was back at her own nest, and there 

 with angry calls defied them. The 

 Grebes for a time swam around the 

 ruined nest, and after examining it 

 seemed still more determined to defy 

 the Coots. 



The spot where the nest had been 

 built seemed really the only sheltered 

 spot with the exception of that occupied 

 by the Coots, but rather than run the 

 risk of having their home destroyed a 

 second time, the Grebes commenced to 



