200 THE BROOK BOOK 



what no crow had yet molested. Three perfect 

 cocoons, so cunningly made and so beautiful that 

 I mentally resolved to restore them to their place 

 after I had taken them away for the Artist. In 

 shape they resembled nothing more than a choco- 

 late cream. In color they were grayish white, 

 tinged with pale brown. Dainty things they were, 

 and filled with innumerable pale yellow eggs, the 

 spider's priceless treasure. 



I bore them home and told my tale of the brook 

 and its visitors, the sloping bank, the crow and 

 the spider's eggs. The jury admired the delicate 

 color and graceful form of the egg-sac and gave a 

 unanimous verdict of guilty, but recommended that 

 mercy be shown the ofifending crows. 



