146 What Birds Have Done With Me 



body agreed that Moses was funny, took life and 

 himself that seriously that it was positively funny 

 just to look at him. When he walked it was the 

 Lord Mayor of London leading a procession to be 

 reviewed by the king, and then Moses was always 

 lame which made it all the funnier. He could lose 

 himself about the grounds, but his dignity, he 

 could not lose. He was supposed to be a young 

 bird just out of the nest when he first came, but 

 soon that was questioned, he had such wise old 

 ways. Those who took the side of youth pointed to 

 the knock down fact that he had not yet learned to 

 fly. In two weeks he was a very important mem- 

 ber of the family, in four weeks he owned the 

 place and instead of his living with us, we lived 

 with him. Wescott's Brindle Bull dog attempted 

 to cross our lawn and our dog Carlo, a mongrel 

 but some fighter, went over the top to meet this 

 Hun. It occurred by the back kitchen door and 

 soon all was in wild tumult and Moses forgot 

 himself to that degree that he flew up into a near- 

 by tree remaining there through the engage- 

 ment, a kind of a war balloon giving Carlo point- 

 ers. When the dog fight was over, he took up 

 his old life and never again was known to attempt 

 flight. To narrate all the queer things he did 

 before a cat got him would make a book, and 

 what I aim to do is quite the reverse. I simply 

 wish to show that to the general acquaintance 



