118 
THE WILD TURKEY. 
pass by, she crouches down as low as possible, 
and tries not to be seen. 
And sometimes, as if the mother birds sym- 
pathised with each other in their domestic 
troubles, they unite, and lay their eggs in one 
nest, and rear their broods together. Then, 
they are quite safe ; for one turkey mounts 
guard, and if an enemy approaches, she gives 
warning to the rest ; and they are generally 
more than a match for him, let him be who 
he may. 
But if no accident happens, and the eggs 
escape the fox, and the lynx, and the rest of 
their enemies, by-and-by the young brood 
come out. Then the mother is amply re- 
warded for all her care. And how rejoiced 
she is ! She strokes them with her bill, as 
* they totter out of the nest, and caresses them 
in a most tender and affectionate manner ; 
and keeps softly clucking ; for that is her way 
of telling them not to leave her side. 
They are very delicate little creatures, and 
have no feathers at present, but only a covering 
of soft hairy down, that is no protection from 
the wet. Rain or damp would be fatal to 
them ; so the mother leads them to the driest 
