Music of the Wild 



floods, and it iiourislie.s such an abundance of rank 

 growth as men scarcely can penetrate. Then the 

 Limberlost and the thicket hohl a long conversa- 

 tion, to tell each other how A'ery content and happy 

 they are. The bed of the Ijiniberlost in the thicket 

 is ooze and muck, so the ^\ater falls silent while 

 slipping over the velvet softness, with only a whis- 

 2)er to the birds and trees; not so loud as the song 

 of the flags, rushes, and ^\ater hyacinths that gro^v 

 on the banks. The many trees and masses of 

 shrubs lo\\'er their tones to answer the creek, and 

 he "who Mould know tlieir secret must find for him- 

 self a place on tlie bank and be very quiet, for in 

 the thicket the stream will sing oidy the softest 

 lullaby, just the merest whisper song. 



The big turtles in tlie water are (juiet folk. 

 So are the sinous black snakes sunning on the 

 bushes, and the muskrats homing along the banks. 

 As if loth to break the dark, damp stillness with 

 louder notes, the doves coo softly ; for they, too, 

 have a secret, the greatest of any ])ird in all the 

 world. Xo wonder they keep together and live so 

 lovingly, and coo and coo softly; those Avild. ten- 

 der, and — above all other — loving liirds. One 

 would think they Avoidd A\arble from tlie treetops 

 and soar with the eayle, had not lono- vears tauffht 

 that modesty and tenderness are their most ])romi- 

 nent characteristics. 



For this is their secret. Tliey are the chosen 

 •294 



