374 Life and Immortality. 
the hours of the morning away, after a night’s carousal, in a 
quiet, sunny spot in the backyard. When the dog had 
become fast wrapped in the arms of the god of slumber, the 
crow would steal to his side, give his ear a sharp pull, and 
when the dog would awake and look around the crow would 
be busy in gleaning, the most unconcerned creature in the 
whole yard. Again and again would she annoy the poor 
animal, and always with the same evident sense of delight, 
which I could always read in the mischievous twinkle that 
lurked in her eyes, till the dog, bewildered and unable 
to account for such mysterious actions, would silently 
skulk away to other parts, where he hoped to be free from 
all intrusion. Even the mistress of the house was not ex- 
empt from her annoyance. She would carry off everything 
she coula lay hold of, and always hid them away in one 
place, that is, in a large crevice on the top of the house 
between the peak of the roof and the chimney. One day 
the mistress’s spectacles disappeared. Search was instituted 
everywhere, but without effect. None knew better than the 
bird what the trouble was. While the search was going on, 
she busied herself in looking around, and seemed as desirous 
of finding the missing glasses as any member of the house- 
hold. The look which the bird gave showed that she en- 
joyed the situation of affairs immensely, and considered it a 
fine joke that she had played upon her mistress. After a 
few days the lost spectacles were restored to their accus- 
tomed place, but no one ever positively knew how they 
came thither. 
Domestic birds, as a rule, are remarkable for the generosity 
which the master-bird shows to his inferiors. He will 
scratch the ground, unearth some food, and then, instead of 
eating it himself, will call some of his favorites, and give them 
the delicacy for which he labored. But I have met witha 
few cases where the cock scratched as usual, called his wives, 
and, when they had gathered round him, ate the morsel him- 
self. It was but a practical joke that he had perpetrated 
