124 THE SPRING OF THE YEAR 



and, despite his wings, lower order of beings. Chick 

 adee is often curious about me ; he can be coaxed to 

 eat from my hand. Chipmunk is more than curious; 

 he is interested ; and it is not crumbs that he wants, 

 but friendship. He can be coaxed to eat from my lips, 

 sleep in my pocket, and even come to be stroked. 



I have sometimes seen Chickadee in winter when 

 he seemed to come to me out of very need for living 

 companionship. But in the flood-tide of summer life 

 Chipmunk will watch me from his stone-pile and tag 

 me along with every show of friendship. 



The family in the orchard wall have grown very 

 familiar. They flatter me. One or another of them, 

 sitting upon the high flat slab, sees me coming. He 

 sits on the very edge of the crack, to be truthful; 

 and if I take a single step aside toward him, he flips, 

 and all there is left of him is a little angry squeak 

 from the depths of the stones. If, however, I pass 

 properly along, do not stop or make any sudden mo- 

 tion, he sees me past, then usually follows me, espe- 

 cially if I get well off and pause. 



During a shower one day I halted under a large 

 hickory just beyond his den. He came running after 

 me, so interested that he forgot to look to his foot- 

 ing, and just opposite me slipped and bumped his 

 nose hard against a stone so hard that he sat up 

 immediately and vigorously rubbed it. Another time 

 he followed me across to the garden and on until he 

 came to the barbed-wire fence along the meadow. 



