XLI.—The Gobbler 



THERE are times when I wish that I 

 had a proper scientific education. For 

 instance, I would hke to know just now 

 whether turkey gobblers ever suffer from 

 speaker's sore throat. None of the bulletins I 

 have on hand throws any light on the matter. It 

 would cheer me considerably to learn that gobblers 

 occasionally suffer from aphonia or speechlessness. 

 It sometimes seems to me that our bubbly jock is 

 getting hoarse, though he is still able to gobble with 

 vigour and authority. But unless he loses his voice 

 before long I shall have to wring his neck — no easy 

 job — or do without my usual amount of sleep. The 

 trouble is all due to the fact that when the turkey 

 hen tried to hide her nest she selected a bunch of 

 long grass at the foot of a tree not far from the 

 house. As she had been put off the cluck a couple 

 of times to make her lay the proper amount of eggs 

 it was decided to let her keep this nest. When she 



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