BIRD LEGEND AND LIFE 



Though the joy had gone out of her life and her heart 

 was hea\y, the kingfisher mother had little time for mourn- 

 ing. Their family, six hungry, helpless, unreasoning little 

 ones, must be provided for. Heretofore the replenishing 

 of the larder had taxed the strength of both parents ; now the 

 survivor must bear the burden alone. 



Fortunately the children were almost old enough to go 

 out into the world, where they would learn to take care of 

 themselves. 



Though there were occasional hungry days in the hole 

 in the bank, the brave mother did her best, and, by always 

 being careful about dividing the food evenly, the little ones 

 were kept reasonably plump, as they grew from king- 

 fisher babyhood to youth. They did not sleep as much as 

 of yore, but continued rolling about, teasing and snapping 

 playfully at each other, more every day, thus, unconsciously, 

 making themselves strong enough to succeed in the new out- 

 door life which M^as soon to be theirs. As they scrambled 

 about in their play, everjr day their little claws grew stronger 

 through clasping and unclasping the scattered bones. 



Now they were becoming venturesome enough to go far 

 out into the passageway to meet their mother as she returned 

 from her marketing, and were able to give her a rattling 

 greeting almost as grown-up in its sound as her own. 



On coming to meet her, it never occurred to them to 

 turn around and follow their bills when she drove them back 

 into the oven-shaped dining-room before serving the custom- 

 ary refreshments. They seemed to think that in going back 

 to any place it was necessary to move backward, and this 

 they always did. And so it was that from constant practice 

 they learned to travel backward even faster than they did 

 forward. The motive was stronger. Their forward move- 



102 



