WILD LIFE IN THE FARM-YARD 59 



he lias crouched watching at a rat's hole, or 

 crawled stealthily upon a bird in the meadow 

 grass I 



So, if you will watch, you shall see a real wild 

 turkey in the tamest old gobbler on the farm. 



Watch him go to roost. Watch him get ready 

 to go to roost, I should say, for a turkey seems to 

 begin to think of roosting about noon-time, espe- 

 cially in the winter; and it takes him from about 

 noon till night to make up his mind that he really 

 must go to roost. 



He comes along under the apple-tree of a De- 

 cember afternoon and looks up at the leafless 

 limbs where he has been roosting since summer. 

 He stretches his long neck, lays his little brainless 

 head over on one side, then over on the other. 

 He takes a good long look at the limb. Then bobs 

 his head one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight- 

 nine-ten times, or perhaps twenty-two or -three 

 times, and takes a still longer look at the limb, 

 saying to himself quint, quint, quint, quint! 

 which means: "I think I '11 go to roost! I think 

 I'll go to roost! I think I'll go to roost! I 

 think I '11 go to roost! I think I '11 go to roost! 

 I think I '11 go to roost!" He thinks he will, but 

 he has n't made up his mind quite. 



