52 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



her shrill cry, and to see her jump among the reeds and 

 climb the stem like a mouse to her nest. She looked 

 into it and then flew away, probably catching a glimpse 

 of us. I got on the willow-tree, and fixing my feet on 

 a forked branch, I stretched myself to the utmost, 

 although at some risk of falling into the stream. The 

 breeze bent the reeds on one side towards me, and 



REED BUNTING. 



then I saw five green eggs laid out so prettily that I 

 protest if I had not been anxious to study the 

 materials of which it was composed I should have left 

 it there to wave to and fro in the wind. It was 

 shaped almost like a wine-glass, suspended among the 

 reeds. I got a pair of scissors with very long handles, 



