Under the Oaks and Elsewhere 



nations, and occurring near home, of more im- 

 portance. I have never found the world empty 

 where the traveller remarked contemptuously 

 that all was tame. Per contra, some of the 

 most superficial people I have ever met have 

 been the farthest travelled. They had never 

 seen the real countries they had crossed. Their 

 desert of Sahara and my sand-dune in the field 

 corner differed only in size. The real differ- 

 ence they never suspected. 



As I walked by the creek-side this morning I 

 saw a pike dart like lightning from the lily pads 

 and I knew there was one minnow less in the lit- 

 tle school wandering up stream. Looking 

 across the meadow, I saw a hawk carrying off 

 a mouse, and later, in the dusty wood-road, met 

 with a wasp that dragged along a huge worm, 

 many times larger than itself. I looked in vain 

 for the comic side of Nature hereabouts. All 

 was serious, and to keep light-hearted I had to 

 overlook the actual conditions. I could have 

 witnessed tragedy all day and even been a par- 

 ticipant in more than one fray, had I chosen. 

 It may be very tame here at home, but disturb 

 a nest of yellow- jackets and there is excitement 



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