/, 



Silverspot 



onward by the current, he seized and bore it 

 oft" in triumph. 



Silverspot was a crow of the world. He 

 was truly a successful crow. He lived in a 

 region that, though full of dangers, abounded 

 with food. In the old, unrepaired nest he 

 raised a brood each year with his wife, whom, 

 by the way, I never could distinguish, and 

 when the crows again gathered together he was 

 their acknowledged chief. 



The reassembling takes place about the eno. 

 of June — the young crows with their bob-tails, 

 soft wings, and falsetto voices are brought by 

 their parents, whom they nearly equal in size, 

 and introduced to society at the old pine woods, 

 a woods that is at once their fortress and col- 

 lege. Here they find security in numbers and 

 in lofty yet sheltered perches, and here they 

 begin their schooling and are taught all the 

 secrets of success in crow life, and in crow life 

 the least failure does not simply mean begin 

 again. It means death. 



The first week or two after their arrival is 

 spent by the young ones in getting acquainted, 

 for each crow must know personally all the 



76 



