96 Twelve Months With 



the pleasing note in it was the generous devotion 

 of the little field sparrow to an unworthy and unde- 

 serving fellow. 



The cuckoo sometimes lays its eggs in the nest 

 of the sparrow or some other bird, and Shake- 

 speare puts into the mouth of the fool in King 

 Lear, this amusing reference to the same greedy 

 appetite which distinguishes the young cowbird : 



"The hedge sparrow fed the cuckoo so long 

 That it had its head bit off by its young." 



Resuming my walk up the creek, I noticed a 

 kingfisher sitting on an old dead stub above a high 

 bank, in which there were several holes one of 

 which looked promising. Crossing the stream I 

 examined the opening and found it marked with 

 bird tracks, and a few small fish bones, which led 

 me to conclude it was the kingfisher's nest. I 

 made no excavation, however, and the birds were 

 not seen entering or leaving, so that I was unable 

 to determine with certainty what the cavity con- 

 tained. One of the birds flew up and down the 

 stream, uttering its harsh rattle, resembling "tiny 

 castanets," such as Tennyson ascribes to the star- 

 ling. 



Henry Van Dyke relates in rhyme how a certain 

 Vain King made a boastful wager with the River 

 God disguised as a peasant fisherman that he could 

 excel the fisherman in his art, and, upon losing the 

 wager was doomed to fish for minnows all his life. 



