''The lapwing comes, and the stork comes, 

 but it is not summer, until the cuckoo is 

 coming." 



It is common to expect an after-win- 

 ter, and this, in several places in Den- 

 mark and Scania, has been named "Lap- 

 wing-winter, Lapwing-snow," because 

 it comes just after the arrival of the lap- 

 wing. In other places in Denmark and 

 Scania, people speak of "Stork- winter 

 or Storksnow," and say that the stork 

 comes with a bag of snow. In Sweden, 

 the last snow is called *'Swan snow," 

 and a winter after the arrival of the 

 wagtail is called ''Wagtail-winter" (Arle- 

 vinter). In Normay, people speak of 

 "Gaukrid." This term is applied to 

 cold weather in May after the arrival 

 of the cuckoo; and in France we have 

 the native, "Rebuse de coucou." 



About the same time as the lapwing, 

 the starling also comes and takes up 

 his residence in the box prepared for 

 him on the gable, or in the tree outside 

 the window. On Gotland, an island in 

 the Baltic, the starbox is hung out at 

 every house, and there, the starling has 

 taken the place of the stork as the bird 

 of horne. 



All over people look for signs of 

 spring. If the wild geese fly early they 

 expect an early spring. The hunters are 

 waiting for the dear woodcock, and he 

 comes the first Sunday in Lent. But as 

 soon as the white anemone is in bloom, 

 the woodcock goes further north. Then 

 the kite comes, and if he is white under 

 the wing, snow^ is expected once more. 



The night of our lady, the stork flies 

 over the Red Sea; and Lady-day (the 

 twenty-fifth of March) is in many places 



called Stork-day, because it is believed 

 the stork flies so fast that he can reach 

 there twelve hours after he has left 

 Egypt. It is, however, well known that 

 he may be delayed, and in Jutland it is 

 said that if the stork has not come by 

 the third of April, he shall pay a barrel 

 of ale to the town. 



The stork is all over received as a 

 dear and missed guest. Only in Greece 

 is he looked upon with an evil eye, be- 

 cause he prefers to build on the Turks' 

 houses. In most places in Europe the 

 stork is invited to build by laying a 

 wheel upon the roof; and where he 

 builds is peace and happiness, and no 

 one need to fear fire. Should, how- 

 ever, the house take fire, then the stork 

 brings water in his bill to help extin- 

 guish the fire. The first time the stork 

 is seen in the spring, he should be no- 

 ticed with great care, because if one 

 first sees the stork flying he will be 

 heavy and lazy, for the stork flies heav- 

 ily; if he first sees him walking he will 

 be quick to his work, for the stork 

 walks easily; and if he first hears him 

 cackle, he will readily break things. It 

 is best to see the stork standing. In 

 Jutland they say, it is a good omen to 

 see for the first time in spring: 



A standing stork, 

 A flying lapwing, 

 A playing colt, 

 A driving plow, 

 A sailing ship, 

 And a white lamb. 



Should the stork be clean and white, 

 the summer will be dry; should he be 

 dirty and black, the summer will be wet. 

 Frants p. Lund. 



WINTER PHILOSOPHERS. 



In central New York, where the win- 

 ters are long, two small boys were 

 obliged to spend much of the time in 

 the house and their mother proposed 

 they should study the birds from the 

 window, to cheat some cold days of 

 their dreariness. 



'T wish we had a mastic whistle," said 



one of the boys, "to blow and call the 

 birds." 



But their mother, who was a woman 

 of experience, said, "they are some- 

 thing like people, you can attract them 

 through the palate. Let us hang some 

 bones with a little meat and some 

 pieces of suet on the shrub near the 



