XXXII 



THE MEADOW LARK 



ONE day when I was about ten years old I was playing 

 in the meadow when I discovered one of the nicest 

 little tunnels I have ever seen. It was an oval archway 

 perhaps five inches in diameter, leading under a large 

 tuft of grass. I explored it and found it ran back at least 

 two or three feet. Of course I was all interest at once 

 because aside from the tunnels of the bobtailed meadow 

 mice and the ants I had never seen anything of the kind, 

 and I knew this tunnel was far too large for such small 

 creatures as these. 



The tunnel made a turn, and I was not able to see where 

 it led without disturbing it. Knowing that there must be 

 some interesting story at the other end, possibly some- 

 thing that would need watching for days, I did not want to 

 injure it, for I knew that if I did the little creature that 

 made it might forsake it. By very carefully pushing the 

 grass apart on the other side I was finally able to see that 

 after running for eighteen or twenty inches in a straight 

 line the tunnel turned abruptly to the right and after 

 running fully as much further there was a nest and in 

 that nest were five spotted eggs. Surely this nest belonged 

 to a wise bird, for nothing flying overhead could see the 

 little mother when she was sitting, and the babies were 



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