124 



THE SPRING OF THE YEAR 



and, despite his wings, lower order of beings. ChickO 

 adee is often curious about me ; he can be coaxed to - 

 eat from my hand. Chipmunk is m ore than curious ;J 

 he is interested ; and it is not crumbs that he wants n 

 but friendship. He can be coaxed to eat from my lij 

 sleep in my pocket, and even come to be stroked. 



I have sometimes seen Chickadee in winter when 

 he seemed to come to me out of very need for living 

 companionship. But in the flood-tide of summer life? 

 Chipmunk will watch me from his stone-pile and 

 me along with every show of friendship. 



The family in the orchard wall have grown very* 

 familiar. They flatter me. One or another of them, . 

 sitting upon the high flat slab, sees me coming. He 

 sits on the very edge of the crack, to be truthful;'.- 

 and if I take a single step aside toward him, he flips, * 

 and all there is left of him is a little angry squeak; 

 from the depths of the stones. If, however, I pass Jj 

 properly along, do not stop or make any sudden mo- 

 tion, he sees me past, then usually follows me, espe- 

 cially if I get well off and pause. 



During a shower one day I halted under a large , 

 hickory just beyond his den. He came running after 

 me, so interested that he forgot to look to his foot-- 

 ing, and just opposite me slipped and bumped his< 

 nose hard against a stone so hard that he sat up o - 

 immediately and vigorously rubbed it. Another time ' 

 he followed me across to the garden and on until he 

 came to the barbed-wire fence along the meadow. V 



