356 Next to the Ground 



ducks, from the call which runs : " Ducky- 

 diddle ! Ducky-diddle! Diddle-did'l Deed'l- 

 deed'l-deed'l ! Ducky-diddle Quawk ! Quack! 

 Quack ! " It is not a close second to the little 

 duck's wheedling chatter, yet neither wholly 

 unreminiscent of it. That is also true of the 

 guinea call : " Widdie ! Widdie ! Wi-iddie ! 

 Widdie ! " Young guineas are so small, so 

 shy, withal so pretty, they look much more 

 like game birds than any sort of domestic 

 fowl. 



Brooding turkeys and guineas are somewhat 

 slovenly in appearance, yet less so than a 

 brooding hen. Indeed a brooding hen is not 

 only unkempt but seemingly out of love with 

 life, herself, all things. She rufFs her neck, 

 scowls, and drops her wings as she runs mo- 

 mentarily off the nest, fights all the prim, 

 pretty pullets, also other hens like herself. 

 Turkeys, which usually leave the nest only 

 once in three days, go away from it with a 

 hopping, flopping flight, and repeatedly 

 stretch the wings, one after the other, over 

 the back. But they do not show ill-temper 

 — that is the prerogative of hens. While a 

 goose sits the gander keeps ward over the 

 nest, ruffling, hissing, and pecking viciously 

 at anything living which comes near. If the 

 attacked runs, so much the worse for it. 

 The gander is after it, beating it with strong 



