32 THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATURE 



the birth of the first rose. Over all 

 the land the rose-blood, pulsing in 

 flower and fruit, claims relationship. 

 The well-fed strawberry, with his ruddy, 

 pitted face, calls himself cousin; the 

 ripening cherry speaks for the plum, 

 the pear, and the quince. The tall 

 blackberry canes wave their snowy 

 wands in homage, and in the springy 

 fields, where the fleur-de-lis betray the 

 sluggish stream, the avens shake their 

 golden petals crying : " We too, we too 

 are kin." 



Then the gypsy clan, that camp in 

 bush and grass and tree, ring out their 

 matins, with the hair-bird as the leader; 

 the mourning dove sings contralto, the 

 hermit thrush, robin, song-sparrow, and 

 bobolink are sopranos, the oriole and 

 wood-thrush tenors, while cuckoos and 

 high-holes lend a croaking base. The 

 catbird mimics and jeers in every key, 



