OUR HOME BIRDS. 
229 
prey. The man then makes another visit, and takes 
whatever he finds in the nest.” 
“ That eagle really went to market, then, for a 
family,” said Malcolm in high glee. “ What fun it 
must have been to the man to see him coming every 
time with something in his beak !” 
“ Yes,” replied Miss Harson, “ but the fun was 
doubtless all on his side, for the poor eagle was badly 
cheated. Another one had a curious adventure with 
a cat, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that 
the cat had a curious adventure with an eagle. This 
bird is very fond of hares, and does not often make 
such mistakes, but the eagle in question happened to 
pounce on a cat, thinking all the time that he had 
caught a fine hare, and carried it off to the nest as 
a tempting meal for the eaglets. The old bird then 
went back, as usual, to look for more food, the cat 
being left half senseless from fright. After panting 
there for a while, she recovered herself and began to 
take in the situation, which was by no means so bad 
as she supposed, the terrible monster with its dread- 
ful claws and beak having entirely disappeared, while 
just at hand were two or three plump birds that stared 
at her in a particularly helpless way. The result was 
that the cat, who was put there to be eaten, devoured 
one of the eaglets, and then made her escape before 
the old bird returned.” 
20 
