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A WHITE TABLE IN THE WOODS. 



This is not a tale of far away and long table cover was of the best quality of 

 ago in the Black Forest, for instance birch bark. The butler host or per- 

 but a true story of the summer just past, haps we might call him the architect of 

 and it comes from under the shadow of the feast was the Yellow-breasted Sap- 

 our own White Mountains, where two sucker; if you didn't know him well you 

 boys made discoveries in the great out of would call him just one of the woodpeck- 

 doors. The boys let me into many of ers ; he had all their peculiarities, crawled 

 their secrets, and now the summer is around up and down the tree trunk, brae- 

 gone I am allowed to tell this one, be- ing himself with his tail, pecking, pound- 

 cause, if you have never happened to find ing and boring, he excavated the hun- 

 a big table spread not under the trees for dreds of round holes, each one a soup 

 picnic people, but high up in a tree for plate to catch and hold the ascending sap. 

 woods people, you will want to look for This is what the Sapsucker seeks, and up- 

 one next summer. on this alone he can live all summer, as 



This was, of course, a wooden table, its proved by Mr. Frank Bolles, who tells us 

 cover both snowy and glossy ; the plates, how he caught and kept young Sapsuck^ 

 which were round, and all the same size, ers alive till October, feeding them only 

 were of wood and placed in straight, reg- on diluted maple syrup. But tiny insects 

 ular rows, six hundred and fifty of them are fond of sweets, too ; they swarmed 

 that is true, for the boys counted and around and lost themselves in our wood- 

 computed a hospitable board, you pecker's full soup plates, thus furnishing 

 think, and you will be sure of it when you him with the animal food needed by such 

 know the whole story ! The butler who a worker. 



was also host not only arranged but There was always' a buzz of bees and 



carved the plates, and wore a business big flies about the tree table, who seemed 



suit of black and white, with a bright red to feast and get away safely. These first 



cap and necktie of the same cheerful hue attracted our attention, but if we stayed 



over a buff shirt. five minutes we were sure to hear the 



The feast at this table was continuous, dear, familiar sound announcing the most 



consisting of choice game, and the sweet- charming of all guests humming birds 



est of sweets. The guests, who came and you know they are brave, brave as they 



went during all the sunshine hours, were are beautiful, but we found them shy 



so various in dress and manners that they about coming too near a Sapsucker ; they 



could not be compared with those at any hovered over his table as over a flower 



public or private banquet ever known, so bed, often lighting on twigs to watch their 



the puzzle must stop here and the plain chance at the freshest and fullest dishes, 



facts be told. With the ruby throats, and on the best 



The table was twenty feet from the of terms with them, came gorgeous but- 

 ground, and set on one side of a tree, so, terflies ; the red admiral, the tiger swallow 

 though of wood, and as round as the tree, tail, and the antiopa were always there, 

 you see it differed fifom your dining-table and how bright they were seen against 

 and King Arthur's in being tipped the snowy birch tree, in dazzling morn- 

 perpendicularly so as to arrange the ing sunshine ! 



plates in straight rows, close together, The biggest and boldest of all the free 



thus accommodating more guests. The feeders is on record as having come and 



