THE COMING OF SPRING 273 



when caught in a gin is released and allowed to fly 

 away, to perish of its hurts or drag out a miserable 

 existence in a maimed condition. This feeling is a 

 great protection to the bird, but in many boys the 

 bird-hunting and nest-destroying passion overmasters 

 it, so that I am not greatly surprised when I find 

 boys persecuting robin redbreast. 



One very warm morning in early spring, walking 

 uphill from Penzance to Castle-an-Dinas, I came on 

 two boys, aged about ten and eleven respectively, 

 lying on the green turf by the side of the hedge. A 

 nice place to rest and nice company ; so I threw my- 

 self down by them and started talking, naturally 

 about the birds. They replied reluctantly, exchanging 

 glances and looking very uncomfortable. There were 

 plenty of nests now, I said ; I was finding a good 

 many, and I asked them directly how many they knew 

 of with eggs and young birds in them. Seeing that I 

 put it that way they recovered courage and one, after a 

 brief whispered consultation with the other, said 

 that there was a robin's nest close to my side, and on 

 looking round I spied a fully-fledged young robin 

 standing on a trodden-down little nest on the bank- 

 side. 1 picked the bird up and was surprised at its 

 docility, for it made no effort to escape, and then, 

 more surprising still, the old bird flew down and 

 perched a yard off, but did not appear at all anxious 

 about the safety of its young. " I wonder," said I, 

 " what has become of the others ? There must have 

 been more young robins in this nest it looks as if it 

 had had three or four to tread it down." 



