50 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



of large tortoises were " coming up out of the 

 river," like Joseph's cattle, to bask, or rather to try 

 to bask, in the sunshine, for it was only here and 

 there that one for a time escaped the attentions 

 of a party of crows, who were enjoying themselves 

 to the utmost in tormenting them. It was really 

 quite exhilarating to see how the birds danced round 

 their victims, watching for chances to run in and 

 plant incisive digs "in safe and soft places," and 

 then beat a precipitate retreat. The tortoises were 

 certainly as " grieved " as those that, according to 

 the pages of " Nature," are frequently added to the 

 collections in Regent's Park; now and then they 

 snapped viciously at their tormentors, but for the 

 most part they were content to draw themselves 

 as far as possible under cover of their armour, and 

 await an opportunity of edging their way down- 

 wards towards the water. Even when they had 

 been fairly routed the crows gave them no rest, 

 but danced around them and obstructed their retreat 

 as much as possible to the very end. After a time 

 the charms of this game palled, and the demons 

 took to running up and down at the edge of the 

 water and frightening away any fresh tortoises who 

 might be foolish enough to wish to land. When 

 tired of this, too, they had a high time in digging 

 a huge bull- frog out of his burrow in the sand, 

 but, when he suddenly emerged and went off in 

 a series of great leaps, they were so much startled 



