top to the valley ; in turning from the sweep of 

 the sea to watch beach-fleas hopping over the 

 sand ; in giving over the wisdom of men for the 

 gabble of my little boys. 



How the vireo scolded ! and her mate ! He 

 half sang his threat and defiance. "Come, get 

 out of this ! Come ; do you hear? " he cried over 

 and over, as I peeked into the nest. It was a 

 thick-walled, exquisite bit of a basket, rimmed 

 round with green, growing moss, worked over 

 with, shredded bark and fragments of yellow 

 wood from a punky stump across the stream, 

 and suspended by spider-webs upon two parallel 

 twigs about three feet above the water. It was 

 not consciously worked out by the birds, of 

 course, but the patch of yellow-wood fragments 

 on the side of the nest exactly matched the size 

 and color of the fading cymes of arrow-wood 

 blossoms all over the bush, so that I mistook 

 the little domicile utterly on first parting the 

 leaves. A crow or a snake would never have 

 discovered it from that side. 



Paddling down, I was soon out of earshot of 

 the scolding vireos, but the little cock's vigor- 

 ous, ringing song followed me to the head of the 

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