XLII.-His Troubles 



LAST night when we were milking there was 

 a sudden racket on the roof of the cow- 

 stable that scared the cows so that they 

 stopped giving down. You would think 

 that a man with a wooden leg was having a fit on 

 the shingles right over our heads. The pounding, 

 flopping and scratching on the hollow roof made the 

 stable resound like the big drum in an Orange pa- 

 rade. I couldn't imagine what on earth was hap- 

 pening, but it only took a step to get out doors and 

 then the cause of the trouble was plain. The old 

 turkey gobbler had decided to roost on the ridge- 

 board of the stable and he was having the time of 

 his life getting up the roof. He was using his wings 

 and his tail to balance himself as he clawed for a 

 toe-hold, and he showed none of the stately grace- 

 fulness that marks his movements when he is strut- 

 ting around the barnyard and proclaiming his over- 

 lordship. When he reached the ridge and caught 

 his balance with a final flip-flap of his broad tail he 



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