106 E AMBLES OF 



me they must be in great danger, and I called to the 

 owner of the place, who happened to be in sight, to in- 

 form him of their situation. Instead of going to their 

 relief, he shouted back to me, to ask if the gander was 

 not there too; and as soon as he was answered in the af- 

 firmative, he bid me be under no uneasiness, as the crow 

 would find his match. Nothing could exceed the cool 

 impudence and pertinacity of the crow, who, perfectly 

 regardless of my shouting, continued to worry the poor 

 gander for an hour, by his efforts to obtain a nice gos- 

 ling for his next meal. At length convinced of the fruit- 

 lessnessof his efforts, he flew off to seek some more easily 

 procurable food. Several crows sometimes unite to plun- 

 der the goose of her young, and are then generally suc- 

 cessful, because they are able to distract the attention of 

 the parents, and lure them farther from their young. 



In the summer the crows disperse in pairs for the pur- 

 pose of raising their young, and then they select lofty 

 trees in the remotest parts of the forest, upon which with 

 dry sticks and twigs they build a large strong nest, and 

 line it with softer materials. They lay four or five eggs, 

 and when they are hatched, feed, attend, and watch over 

 their young with the most zealous devotion. Should any 

 one by chance pass near the nest while the eggs are still 

 unhatched, or the brood are very young, the parents keep 

 close, and neither by the slightest movement nor noise 

 betray their presence. But if*the young are fledged, and 

 beginning to take their first lessons in flying, the ap- 



