A CLEVER LITTLE EOGUE. 85 



Finding himself alone again, and no more 

 dainties coming his way, the young dipper 

 turned for entertainment to the swift-running 

 streamlet. He went down to the edge, stepping 

 easily, never hopping ; but when the shallow 

 edge of the water ran over his pretty white toes, 

 he hastily scampered back, as if afraid to ven- 

 ture farther. The clever little rogue was only 

 coquetting, however, for when he did at last 

 plunge in he showed himself very much at 

 home. He easily crossed a turbulent bit of the 

 brook, and when he was carried down a little he 

 scrambled without trouble up on a stone. All 

 the* time, too, he was peering about after food; 

 and in fact it was plain that his begging was a 

 mere pretense, he was perfectly well able to 

 look out for himself. Through the whole of 

 these scenes not* one of the birds, old or young, 

 had paid the slightest attention to me, though I 

 was not ten feet from them. 



During the time I had been so absorbed in 

 my delightful study of domestic life in the ouzel 

 family, the other interesting resident of the 

 canon the elusive canon wren had been for- 

 gotten. Now, as I noticed that the day was 

 waning, I thought of him again, and, tearing 

 myself away from the enticing picture, leaving 

 the pretty baby to his own amusements, I re- 

 turned to the famous Pillars, and planted my- 



