4 THE FINCH 



At thai time, being- eleven years old, 1 used to lay 

 snares for young birds in a coppice belonging to my 

 grandfather. These snares are very common in the pro- 

 vince of Lorraine, especially from September to No- 

 vember, the time of passage. All the small fry of birds 

 are sure to be taken in these traps, especially in the 

 cruel one that La Fontaine calls « Re^ln<>iette » and 

 which in our parts is called the « Grasshopper ». 



This snare consists of a supple hazel switch curved 

 like a racket, the two ends of which are brought together 

 by a double cord. These rackets are placed edgewise 

 along the paths or the ponds frequented by birds, every 

 twenty feet. Some of the more skilled snarelayers even 

 fasten a bunch of sorberries above the racket as a 

 bait. Early in the morning and late at night, some 

 sharp billed bird is sure to come and drink in the 

 pond tempted by the treacherous appearance of that 

 inviting perch ; they settle on it, a peg comes down 

 with a dry noise, and the poor creature is caught in 

 the suddenly tightened slip knot and hangs suspended 

 by its bruised members at the top of the unstrung 

 racket. 



One evening as my grandfather and I were taking 



our last walk, 1 heard some sharp cries in a footpath 



close by and 1 saw a bird just caught in one of our 



<( Grasshoppers ». It was about the size of a sparrow 



- and it fluttered so furiously that it had almost overset 



