The Love Element in Bird Protection 147 



with the Grackles that I got when driving the ox 

 teams on the breaking plough, is a close and inti- 

 mate relation with the mysterious King of the 

 Grackles who came out of the storm cloud and 

 made his home with us. We did not capture him, 

 he captured us. I, for one, did not know how 

 much I loved him till the morning when he was 

 not in any of his usual places and Cash Haskins, 

 who was helping plant corn, accidentally stumbled 

 on the remains of a cat's supper on the lawn where 

 we saw him first. Yes, I'm frank to admit that 

 I've always been fond of Grackles and what is 

 more, at least, some Grackles have been fond 

 of me. I presume that when one creature trusts 

 another completely, if you could get at the facts 

 you would find that trust bound up with a certain 

 amount of fondness. 



Not so long ago on a misty morning, I was 

 using a scythe among some shrubbery that I did 

 not care to turn over to the tender mercy of a 

 hired man. I found there a Mr. and Mrs. Bronze 

 Grackle and five very callow babies in possession 

 of the grass I wished to mow. I started in gin- 

 gerly, thinking I would soon be ordered to go 

 about my business, but strangely enough, the birds 

 made no objection to my presence and there was 

 neither distrust nor the faintest anxiety in their 

 usual utterances. Still, I did not realize that these 

 birds were paying me the highest compliment that 



