THE WHOLE BUNCH 



Instinct in the old fellow. Taking his place near the 

 little flock he spread out his tail and ample wings 

 so that they touched the ground and offered an ex- 

 cellent shelter, but the ungrateful creatures refused 

 to notice him. No wonder his temper seems to have 

 gone bad. He is forced to flock by himself and the 

 lonely life leads him to brood on his wrongs. Since 

 the beginning of the hay harvest he has roosted on 

 the front ladder of the hayrack, and when either man 

 or beast has passed him he has gobbled viciously and 

 "cursed them by their gods." If there is any truth 

 in the old saying that curses, like chickens, come 

 home to roost, that turkey will have a terrible time 

 of it if the curses he has uttered this summer ever 

 decide to hold an old home week. Though he is a big 

 bird, only a small percentage of them will be able to 

 find a roosting place. 



Even though Shepp}' did not figure in the rumpus 

 when I was chasing away the colts that scared the 

 cows and led to my kicking the titled cat, he was in 

 the offing, with his tongue hanging out. He had 

 done his work of bringing the cows to the pasture 

 gate, and was in a position to watch the disturbance 

 with the air of one who had done his work properly 

 and did not need to concern himself with vulgar 



219 



