BIRD PARADISE 



93 



fortably. Of course his supply of food was lim- 

 ited but he found enough to keep the fires of life 

 burning brightly, and so far as I could see, 

 passed the hours of his somewhat narrow life 

 quite pleasantly. A little later in the season a 

 family of youngsters gladdened by their presence 

 the rustic home. I found not a little recreation 

 in watching them as they passed through the dif- 

 ferent stages of woodchuck life. Curious that in 

 their small world they are beset with enemies on 

 every side. Hawks and foxes are on the watch 

 for them, and I am told, though I have never 

 seen it, that the old male members of the tribe 

 appropriate them in a cannibal way. ' ' The price 

 of liberty, even among the animals, is eternal 

 vigilance." 



My toad parishioners interview me now almost 

 daily. When I find them in the grass they seem 

 in a pleasant mood and, so far as I understand, 

 say pleasant things. When my hoe or spade 

 breaks into their snug winter quarters, giving 

 them an unceremonious tumble out into the light, 

 they wink some and blink some, and I am quite 

 sure express themselves in as forcible a manner 

 as the toad ever employs. I notice that they seem 

 in fine heart as the spring opens. 



