Kedruff 



to carry away fat white eggs m But the old pair* 



tridge, coming to the little ones, picked up one 

 of these juicy-looking bags and clucked and 

 dropped it, and picked it up again and again 

 and clucked, then swallowed it. The young 

 ones stood around, then one little yellow fel- 

 low, the one that sat on the chip, picked up an 

 ant-egg, dropped it a few times, then yielding 

 to a sudden impulse, swallowed it, and so had 

 learned to eat. Within twenty minutes even 

 the runt had learned, and a merry time they had 

 scrambling after the delicious eggs as their 

 mother broke open more ant-galleries, and sent 

 them and their contents rolling down the bank, 

 till every little partridge had so crammed his 

 little crop that he was positively misshapen and 

 could eat no more. 



Then all went cautiously up the stream, and 

 on a sandy bank, well screened by brambles, they 

 lay for all that afternoon, and learned how pleas- 

 ant it was to feel the cool powdery dust running 

 between their hot little toes, With their strong 

 bent for copying, they lay on their sides like 

 their mother and scratched with their tiny feet -~ ? #5^.r 



and flopped with their wings, though they had ¥ 5sfe J, vS i "^ \ 



3i3 



