The Brook Path. 171 



in alarm separate. But one flies to the oak branch 

 and defiantly calls immediately. 



Over the meadows comes the distant note of the 

 cuckoo. When he first calls his voice is short and 

 somewhat rough, but in a few days it gains power. 

 Then the second syllable has a mellow ring ; and as 

 he cries from the tree, the note, swiftly repeated and 

 echoed by the wood, dwells on the ear something like 

 the ' hum ' or vibration of a beautiful bell. 



As the hedges become green the ivy leaves turn 

 brown at the edge and fall ; the wild ivy is often 

 curiously variegated. At the foot of the tree up 

 which it climbs the leaves are five-angled, higher up 

 they lose the angles and become rounded, though 

 growing on the same plant. Sometimes they have a 

 grey tint, especially those that trail along the bank ; 

 sometimes the leaves are a reddish brown with pale 

 green ribs. 



By the brook now the meadow has become of a 

 rich bright green, the stream has sunk and is clear, 

 and the sunlight dances on the ripples. The grasses 

 at the edge the turf curl over and begin to grow 

 down the steep side that a little while since was 

 washed by the current. Where there is a ledge of 

 mud and sand the yellow wagtail runs ; he stands on 

 a stone and jerks his tail. 



