A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



409 



A gentle breeze was blowing, while the air was cool and 

 soft ; so that, forgetful of the past, and sanguine for the fu- 

 ture, we built our bivouac. While at work, our eyes were 

 attracted on every side by the insects and birds, whose 

 splendid colors literally enamelled the trees in which every 

 shade of green blended harmoniously. It would be difficult 

 to describe the wild grandeur of the scene around us. We 

 might have fancied we were in one of those marvellous gar- 

 dens which Arabian story-tellers delight in depicting. The 

 roaring of some wild beast reminded us that our fire was 

 nearly out. At last I set the example of going to rest. 

 We intended to pass three or four days in this spot, as it 

 was so favorable to our pursuits. 



" Nobody can accuse us of being too fond of rest," said 

 my friend ; " this is the 20th of April ; therefore we have 

 now been travelling uninterruptedly forty days." 



The next day at dawn I set off with Sumichrast on an 

 exploring expedition, leaving Lucien still fast asleep. We 

 returned, about eleven o'clock, with a dozen birds, among 

 which we had a greenish-yellow woodpecker, with a bright 

 red tuft on its head ; also a Cuculus vetula, a species of 

 cuckoo, which feeds on lizards and young serpents. 



During our absence, l'Encuerado had cut down three 

 palm-trees and hollowed out the lower part of the trunks, * 

 in order to collect their sweet sap. He also wove a sort of 

 palisade of creepers round several thick stakes, in which 

 we could sleep without fear of surprise. In a hole near the 

 top of one of the palm-trees, Lucien spied out a parrot's 

 nest, and had taken possession of two young birds, red, 

 green, and yellow in color, which seemed to adapt them- 

 selves wonderfully to the attentions lavished upon them by 

 the boy. 



" What are you going to do with these poor orphans ?" 

 I asked. 



18 



