116 THE HERON OF CASTLE CEEEK 



appearance indicated that they were the fledg- 

 lings from the nest in the forest trees. Eenoult, 

 not wishing yet to risk discovery, crawled like 

 a snake beneath the gorse, till from behind a 

 shoulder of rock he peeped unseen at the pre- 

 occupied family. 



The young herons were undoubtedly filled 

 with the importance of their early lessons in 

 obtaining food, and were closely attentive to 

 every motion on the part of their mother. When 

 she advanced, they all advanced, when she trod, 

 they all trod, lifting their long shanks with ner- 

 vous clumsiness. Generally they moved in 

 single file behind the parent bird, but sometimes, 

 as with excessive caution, she stalked a trout or 

 a minnow that had darted to refuge beneath a 

 pebble in the shallows, or a mouse, or a frog, or 

 a beetle that had hidden in the grass on the bank 

 of the lake, they quietly stole up in line beside 

 her the better to enjoy the sight of good hunting. 

 Hardly had the mother lifted her head after 

 striking her prey, when the young birds, crowd- 

 ing around her, and feebly flapping their wings, 

 begged with low, harsh cries for food. If the 

 catch proved to be an insignificant item in her 

 usual bill of fare, the mother heron swallowed ib 

 with ludicrous haste, but if she caught a frog or 

 a trout of any considerable size she at once 

 doubled back among her excited brood, so that 



