240 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



than from the brisk vigor of his movements one 

 would be led to expect. 



How romantic and beautiful is the life of this 

 brave little singer on the wild mountain streams, 

 building his round bossy nest of moss by the 

 side of a rapid or fall, where it is sprinkled and 

 kept fresh and green by the spray ! No wonder 

 he sings well, since all the air about him is music ; 

 every breath he draws is part of a song, and he 

 gets his first music lessons before he is born ; 

 for the eggs vibrate in time with the tones of the 

 waterfalls. Bird and stream are inseparable, 

 songful and wild, gentle and strong, — the bird 

 ever in danger in the midst of the stream's mad 

 whirlpools, yet seemingly immortal. And so I 

 might go on, writing words, words, words ; but 

 to what purpose? Go see him and love him, 

 and through him as through a window look into 

 Nature's warm heart. 



