SOME OF THE WILD THINGS 



cling to the bark while drinking, the wings 

 closed and silent. 



Flies and hornets were in evidence, crawling 

 on the bark of the maples, or flying around ^ 



the drills. A hornet stung the squirrel on 

 the ear. When I left, the latter was shaking 

 his head and telling the hornets what he 

 thought of them. 



When I returned to the cabin, I found a 

 pair of catbirds in trouble. They nested in V* 



a dense mass of shrubbery about eighty feet 

 from the dooryard. The male catbird met ^f 



me some distance from the nest, and by his 

 excited cries I knew that some bird enemy . 



was near at hand. When I came in sight of ^ 



the nest I discovered the trouble. A black 

 snake was making his way through the bushes ty 



toward the nest, and the mother-bird was 

 waging a fierce but fruitless battle. Jl* | 



I killed the snake, which was over five feet 

 in length. The nest contained four eggs. 

 For the time being they were safe. 



In due time the nest contained four baby 

 catbirds. One moonlight night, ^about ten 

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