THE SONG SPARROW 55 



wise interference : it guided disaster to the spot ; 

 the nest was broken up, and the mother bird was 

 probably caught, as I never saw her afterward. 



One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards 

 from where I was sitting with a book : two song 

 sparrows were trying to defend their nest against 

 a black snake. The curious, interrogating note 

 of a chicken who had suddenly come upon the 

 scene in his walk first caused me to look up from 

 my reading. There were the sparrows, with 

 wings raised in a way peculiarly expressive of 

 horror and dismay, rushing about a low clump 

 of grass and bushes. Then, looking more closely, 

 I saw the glistening form of the black snake, and 

 the quick movement of his head as he tried to 

 seize the birds. The sparrows darted about and 

 through the grass and weeds, trying to beat the 

 snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, and, 

 panting with the heat and the desperate struggle, 

 they presented a most singular spectacle. They 

 uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them ; they 

 were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. 

 Not once did they drop their wings, and the 

 peculiar expression of those uplifted palms, as 

 it were, I shall never forget. It occurred to me 

 that perhaps here was a case of attempted bird- 

 charming on the part of the snake, so I looked 

 on from behind the fence. The birds charged the 



