BABY GROSBEAKS 207 



sistibly moved as I hoped she would be 

 to look upon her little folks, to see how they 

 fared; and thus she pointed them out to 

 me. 



There they stood, two of them, on the top 

 branch of a tall maple, like silhouettes 

 against the sky. They were not much to 

 look at, with beaks almost as big as their 

 heads, and dressed in brown and white, like 

 the mother, but I was glad to see them. 

 Hardly had I taken a good look, however, 

 when the mother discovered that my glass 

 was leveled at her young family, and in- 

 stantly proceeded to remove her darlings in 

 a way I have seen other mothers do. She 

 dashed past them, just over their heads, al- 

 most but not quite touching them. This 

 acted on the young grosbeaks with the power 

 of magic ; they followed at once, as though 

 unable to resist. (The first time I saw this 

 done, I thought the mother had knocked her 

 baby off.) All three disappeared in the trees 

 beyond. 



One of my favorite seats was in a bit of 

 woods just beyond the pasture, beside a 

 brook. There were others who liked this 



