APRIL SHOWERS 



and sweet fern will woo you from a dis- 

 tance with rich aroma, but only after the 

 leaves have come, and then only if you 

 bruise them, will you get a message from 

 the shy heart of the sweet gale. 



On such a morning it seems as if all the 

 birds were here, flitting back and forth 

 through the soft blue early mists and sing- 

 ing for pure joy in the soft air and gentle 

 warmth. For the first time the robins sang 

 as if they meant it, not in great numbers, 

 though there are legions of them here, but 

 enough so that you can easily forecast the 

 power of the full chorus which will tune 

 up a little later. Blackbirds and bluebirds 

 caroled, and song sparrows fairly split 

 their throats, and now and then a flicker 

 would sit up on a top bough, clear his 

 throat, throw out his chest and pipe up 

 " Tucker-tucker-tucker-tucker-tucker/' 

 then, abashed at the noise he had made, 

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