MY WOODLAND INTIMATES 



circumstances. Malformations and other individ- 

 ual peculiarities are sure to come to light in this 

 close scrutiny, and Jack Frost, his mark, is seen 

 in many a pitiful stump of a leg or an incomplete 

 supply of toes. Damages from other sources can 

 also be traced at the clinic of the tavern. Here it 

 was, for instance, that I diagnosed the case of a 

 junco with an injured wing, and a sparrow with 

 a broken leg. These two little creatures lodge in 

 the lattice-enclosed shelter under the veranda. 

 One of my pensioners has a white eye, an indica- 

 tion of blindness, I suppose; but the other eye is 

 so bright and keen that it appears equal to the 

 performance of double duty. 



The tavern is the scene of feasts and jollifica- 

 tions, and toilet-makings and cosey moments of 

 nestling among the evergreen branches; but there 

 are also times when the poor little guests bear evi- 

 dences of having been storm-buffeted and nearly 

 frozen, and the tiny claws appear too numb to 

 grasp the perches. Often only one foot at a time 

 is able to serve owing to the fact that the other 

 is drawn up among the protecting feathers in the 

 effort to thaw it out. Think of the comfort of 

 the well-provisioned Balsam Bough Tavern at 

 times of such great distress; for even in driving 



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