Life and Immortality. 



it good-naturedly and decorously, and was ever afterward on 

 the alert for these little tricks of her canine friend. 



Birds can be as capable of cheating, not only each other, 

 but other animals. A crow, belonging to John Smedley, a 

 resident of Lima, Pa., was an adept in the business. When 

 dinner was preparing, he would fly around the corner of the 

 house, set up a terrific cawing as though in great distress, 

 and when the mistress of the house, with whom he was a 

 great favorite, would come out on a tour of investigation, 

 the rascally bird would elude her and manage to steal round 

 to the table in the opposite direction and seize what food 

 suited him the best, which he would carry to the top of the 

 house, where he would eat it at his leisure. No persuasions 

 would induce him to come down, for he knew that such 

 action was a breach of the peace, and he was fearful of the 

 punishment, that of confinement to a cage, which would fol- 

 low. When, however, he felt assured that his mistress had 

 forgiven the wrong-doing, he would fly down to the porch, 

 and do his utmost to convince her that he was a well-mean- 

 ing bird, and that he was thoroughly ashamed of his actions. 

 But there was one member of the family that utterly de- 

 tested the bird. It was the dog Rover. Many a trick had 

 the bird practised upon the latter, especially at meal time. 

 Poor Rover was not allowed to eat in peace. When he 

 would be wholly absorbed in his dinner, the crow would 

 approach him in the rear, give him a severe twirl of the tail, 

 and then in a twinkling fly to one side, looking the very 

 picture of innocence. But ere the dog had recovered his self- 

 possession and was ready to resume his feeding again, the bird 

 had captured the daintiest morsel, and was off to the tree-top. 

 Discomfited and outwitted, the dog would rush to the base of 

 the tree, bark his growls of anger and defiance, while the crow 

 would look quizzically down from above, and chuckle with 

 delight. 



Many of my readers may, perhaps, remember the story of 

 the two dogs that used to hunt the hare in concert, the one 



