BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 57 



Although thus having the appearance of being very 

 much occupied, he would always stop for a few 

 minutes' talk with me ; and by and by I began 

 to suspect that he was a very social sort of person, 

 and that it pleased him to have a little chat, but that 

 he liked to have me think that he met me by accident 

 while going about his work* 



One sunny morning as I came past his field he 

 came out bearing a huge bundle of green grass on 

 his head, " What ! " he exclaimed, coming to a 

 stand, " you here to-day i I thought you'd be away 

 to the regatta/' 



I said that I knew little about regattas and cared 

 less, that a day spent in watching and listening to 

 the birds gave me more pleasure than all the regattas 

 in the country. " I suppose you can't understand 

 that <" I added. 



He took the big green bundle from his head 

 and set it down, pulled off his old hat to flap 

 the dust out of it, then sucked at his short clay* 

 44 Well," he said at length, " some fancies one 

 thing and some another, but we most of us like a 

 regatta." 



During the talk that followed I asked him if he 

 knew the wryneck, and if it ever nested in his orchard. 

 He did not know the bird ; had never heard its 

 name nor the other names of snake-bird and cuckoo's 

 mate ; and when I had minutely described its 



