132 
THE KING OF THE BIRDS. 
When the eagle is very hungry, he will 
so far descend from his dignity as to feed 
upon dead animals ; thus putting himself on 
a level with the vultures. An abundant 
supply of this kind of food is every now 
and then thrown in his way, as you shall 
hear. 
At a certain season of the year, the squirrels 
move from one part of the country to the other, 
as the birds do. They are so bent upon this 
journey, dictated to them by instinct, that no 
obstacle stands in their way : but, like a brave 
little army, they hold on in spite of every 
difficulty. 
You would wonder how they can contrive 
to cross the mighty rivers that intersect the 
country, and it is rather a puzzling matter. 
When they come to the bank, and see how 
deep and wide the river is, they make a halt, 
and seem to consider what is best to be done. 
After a little delay, they march back into the 
wood ; but you must not think they have 
abandoned the enterprise. So far from this, 
they are only gone to find something to make 
a raft ; and presently the whole army marches 
out again, each squirrel carrying a strip of 
