disturb tlie sleep of the leaf shadows on the 

 sleepy stream. A rusty, red-bellied water-snake, 

 in a mat of briers near by, relaxed and straight- 

 ened slowly out,— and softly, that I might not be 

 attracted,— stretching himself to the warmth. I 

 could have broken his back with my paddle, 

 and perhaps, by so doing, saved the nestlings of 

 a pair of Maryland yellowthroats fidgeting about 

 near him. He had eaten many a young bird of 

 these bushes, I was sure— yet only circumstan- 

 tially sure. Catching him in the act of robbing 

 a nest would have been different ; I should have 

 felt justified then in despatching him. But to 

 strike him asleep in the sun simply because he 

 was a snake would have robbed the spot of part 

 of its life and spirit and robbed me of serenity 

 for the rest of the day. I should not have been 

 able to enjoy the quiet again until I had said 

 my prayers and slept. 



And as between the hawks and other wild 

 birds, we need not interfere. While the water- 

 snake was spreading himself, a small hawk, a 

 sharp -shinned, I think, came beating over the 

 meadow and was met by a vigilance committee 

 of red-shouldered blackbirds. He did not stop 

 [137] 



