GENERAL JIM 151 
did not go. This was home to him here, and, be- 
sides, he did not know what would happen to him 
among all those strangers. So he remained in 
his pine tree, while the flock streamed south. 
Jim waited and waited about the deserted 
house, but still there was no scrap of breakfast by 
the door, no sign of the people and the dog he 
knew, no brother and sister for company. At 
last a snow came, and he was positively hungry. 
The mice burrowed under the snow, and it was 
hard to detect them. The stray kernels of corn 
around the fields and the barn were all covered. 
So were the oats. Jim made a higher flight than 
was his wont, and gazed over the surrounding 
country for signs of help. Far off, over a snowy 
meadow, he saw the black forms of three crows, 
and forgetting his fear in his hunger, he flew di- 
rectly toward them. 
- They were circling and settling over the snowy 
fields when he drew near, and all three began to 
caw when they saw Jim coming. Their voices 
did not seem unfriendly. Jim recognized one of 
them as a crow which had lived that summer close 
to his yard. In fact, they seemed to be trying 
