BIRD LEGEND AND LIFE 



As we notice them growing more and more shy and begin- 

 ning to haunt the treetops, we may know that their days 

 among us are numbered. The subtle suggestion of autumn's 

 crimson and gold, the curling leaves and falling nuts, awaken 

 the migratory instinct. Soon, when the groves are seared 

 by frosts, with the gay vesture of the youthful year dulled 

 by a season of labor, they will be scarcely distinguishable 

 from the wind-swept leaves as they are caught in the great 

 southern drift; yet, on the eve of their departure, in voices 

 threadbare but earnest, they will preach in the golden gray 

 of the autumn twilight the same doctrine of gentleness and 

 love that they preached in the green glory of the springtime 

 - — and among all their hearers, who fully understand the code, 

 none are found who fail to follow the cryptic call. 



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