A MALICIOUS-LOOKING APPLE. 131 



warm and dry, but the nest was sadly damaged, 

 the lichen covering was softened and brightened 

 in color, and the whole structure spread and 

 settled, so that I feared it would not hold to- 

 gether till the little ones were grown. 



There, too, was the ever-present menace of 

 falling apples, which were constantly dropping 

 from the tree. A well-loaded branch hung over 

 the nest, and one particularly malicious-looking 

 specimen of an angry reddish hue, suspended as 

 it appeared exactly above, had a deep dimple in 

 one side which gave it a sinister expression, and 

 one could not help the suspicion that it might 

 delight in letting go its hold and dashing that 

 frivolous nursery to the ground. 



The very leaves themselves appeared to show 

 character. I was never so impressed by their 

 behavior, though I had previously seen some 

 curious performances that looked very much as 

 if leaves have minds of their own. Three inches 

 from the little homestead grew a twig bearing a 

 clump of leaves, perhaps five or six. When I 

 began watching, the largest one hung closely 

 over the nest, on the side toward my window, so 

 that part of the time the whole affair was hidden 

 from sight. In the interest of Science (in whose 

 name, as well as in the name of Liberty, many 

 crimes are committed), I thought it necessary 

 quietly to remove that leaf. Then, although 



