THE CROW. 11 



and neck around in the intelligent crow fashion, 

 circled back to the woods, lit, and cawed vocifer- 

 ously to three other crows till they came over 

 across the pasture. 



After making them all circle over my head, per- 

 haps merely as a blind, he took them back to his 

 perch where he wanted them to go beechnutting 

 or something else. Whatever it was, they evi- 

 dently scorned his childishness, for they flew back 

 to their tree across the field as fast as they had 

 come. This put him in a pet, and he would not 

 budge, but sat there sputtering like a spoiled 

 child. To everything he said, whether in a com- 

 plaining or teasing tone, the same gruff paternal 

 caw came back from the pasture. " Come along ! " 

 it seemed to say. To this the refractory son would 

 respond, " I won't." They kept it up for several 

 minutes, but at last paternal authority conquered, 

 and the big boy, making a wide detour, flew slowly 

 and reluctantly back to his family. He lit on a 

 low branch under them, and when the father gave 

 a gruff " I should think it was time you came," he 

 defiantly shook his tail and cleaned his bill. After 

 a few moments he condescended to make a low 

 half sullen, half subdued remark, but when the 

 family all started off again he sat and scolded 

 some time before he would follow them, and I 

 suspect he compromised matters then only because 

 he did not want to be left behind. 



The " intelligence of the crow " lias become a 



