bird took refuge from the snow in this dark 

 evergreen fastness now he is minded to 

 stir abroad for a breakfast more to his taste 

 than the cedar's thick blue-berries. See ! 

 he perches on a tall apple-bough, so lightly 

 as scarce to disturb its crown of snow. Lis- 

 ten to his low, insistent call. Madame, his 

 mate, is most like a sleepy- head, dozing 

 yet upon her perch within. How he sways 

 in the wind a flower of the air ruffling his 

 small throat till the laggard love comes to 

 him. Hers is a querulous note. Perhaps 

 she is reminding him that she knew last fall 

 it was going to snow and how very, very 

 much better if they had flitted south, along 

 with other fashionable folk in feather. 



Poor little body ! Her red-throated, ruffled 

 coat does seem a pitiful protection against 

 this cold. It strengthens hourly, spite of 

 the sunshine. This barn here in the outly- 

 ing field has one steep roof-side fair to the 

 south. The snow upon it smokes and thaws 

 faintly the drippings thereof freeze in 

 crystalline fringes all along the eaves. 



It is one of those days, 



" When icicles hang on the wall. 



****** 

 And milk comes frozen home in pail." 



