NAIVE YOUNG FLICKERS 221 



ward the marsh, intending to conceal myself 

 behind a haycock which he usually passed 

 over. 



As 1 walked slowly along I met a family 

 of young flickers. It was their first outing, as 

 was plain to see, so nai've, so innocent in 

 their young assertive ways, so imperative in 

 their announcement of their presence. Ex- 

 perience of the world had not yet knocked 

 out of them the feeling of the nursery, that 

 they were the most important objects on 

 earth. 



One of the disturbed parents appeared on 

 a tree and called anxiously, but one of the 

 brand-new young ones came into plain sight 

 on the fence, and greeted a protesting robin 

 with a vehement bow and an emphatic 

 " peauk ! " that claimed the world for his 

 own, and demanded by what right the robin 

 presumed to speak. 



After pausing a few moments to enjoy this 

 charming ingenuousness, I went on. 



All the way I had been conscious of voices, 

 and at length my eyes fell upon the talkers. 

 They were two crows perched on the top 

 branches of two trees and expressing their 



