NATURE AND THE POETS. 125 



forming, with that of the high-hole, one of the three 

 or four most characteristic field sounds of our spring ; 

 the happy gold-finch, circling round and round in 

 midsummer with that peculiar undulating flight and 

 calling per-chick 1 '-o-pee, per-chick r -o-pee, at each open- 

 ing and shutting of the wings, or later leading her 

 plaintive brood among the thistle-heads by the road- 

 side ; the little indigo-bird, facing the torrid sun of 

 August and singing through all the livelong summer 

 day ; the contented musical soliloquy of the vireo, 

 like the whistle of a boy at his work, heard through 

 all our woods from May to September : 



" Pretty green worm, where are you? 

 Dusky-winged moth, how fare you, 

 When wind and rain are in the tree ? 

 Cheeryo, cheerebly, chee, 

 Shadow and sun one are to me. 

 Mosquito and gnat, beware you, 

 Saucy chipmunk, how dare you 

 Climb to my nest in the maple-tree, 

 And dig up the corn 

 At noon and at morn ? 

 Cheeryo, cheerebly, chee." 



Or the phcebe-bird, with her sweet April call and 

 mossy nest under the bridge or woodshed, or under 

 the shelving rocks ; or the brown thrasher mock- 

 ing thrush calling half furtively, half archly from 

 the tree-top, back in the bushy pastures : " Croquet, 

 croquet, hit it, hit it, come to me, come to me, tight 

 it, tight it, you 're out, you 're out," with many musi- 

 sal interludes ; or the cheewink, rustling the leaves 

 ind peering under the bushes at you : or the pretty 



