An Old Log that Was Bewitched 77 



open when not ten rods away I stumbled over 

 a black calf that was quickly joined by its mother; 

 and she and I wended our way home, each in pos- 

 session of our dark secret. 



There is this singular thing about a mystery; 

 when you think it all cleared up, the sun of truth 

 is just beginning to break through the clouds of 

 error and the full noon is apt to be hours away. 

 I had the calf in the barn and the cow in the 

 pasture, and had been scolded at by my brothers 

 and praised by my father before it dawned upon 

 me that I did not begin to know all about the 

 crazy Ruffed Grouse yet; whereas I knew who 

 made the noise I did not have the ghost of an idea 

 as to why he did it. It required weary hours of 

 waiting and watching before proof, strong as 

 Holy Writ, established his claim to being the most 

 poetic of woodland minstrels beneath the window 

 of the female of the species the surrounding 

 hills, her castle walls, and his loud lament, a 

 woeful ballad to his mistress' eye-brow. 



Let no man say, "Oh, vanity, thy name is 

 woman," for man who has the first right to about 

 everything has first claim to vanity as well. Mrs. 

 Peacock, Mrs. Gobler and Mrs. Ruffed Grouse 

 must have a certain amount of contempt for their 

 silly husbands, always on dress parade, always 

 trying to show off and attract attention. Especially 

 is Mr. Ruffed Grouse's attempt to drum up ad- 



