182 THE CANADA GANDER. 



head over the sides of the tub, and taking the 

 drowning Raven up in his mouth, laid him gently 

 on the ground, where he soon recovered, to die by 

 the hand of the hoy, who, though he might have 

 known by heart, had never learned to feel in his 

 heart the golden precept, of " doing to others as he 

 would be done by." 



The Canada Geese appear to be peculiarly sus- 

 ceptible birds, and will, sometimes, make up by 

 imagination or fancy what is deficient in reality. 

 Thus, a Canada Gander in a nobleman's park, near 

 Windsor, having no mate, has, for two Springs, 

 regularly mounted guard opposite a drawbridge, 

 in front of a thicket, where it is clear he imagines 

 there is a nest, and defends the approaches very 

 courageously, continuing this ideal defence till the 

 first brood of ducklings appears from some other 

 quarter, which he immediately takes under his pro- 

 tection; and last year he thus actually chaperoned 

 twenty-five. It should be added, that there is no 

 nest of any kind whatever within the precincts 

 which he so strenuously guards. 



But if, in this case, we may smile at the old 

 Gander's fancy and credulity, in believing eggs to 

 be hatching where none were laid, we can quote 

 another, showing that a Goose is occasionally pos- 

 sessed of a keen sense, enabling her to detect impo- 

 sition, and distinguish her own eggs from others 

 closely resembling them. A Goose, belonging to a 

 clergyman in Cheshire, was set, (as it is termed,) on 

 six or eight eggs. The dairy-maid thinking these 

 too few for so large a bird to cover, added an equal 

 number of Duck eggs. The next morning she 



