OUR BIRDS IN WINTER. 
Ill 
iiig that it would not be well to interrupt him, 
kept silence, and began looking about in the 
mud near the pool, for worms and leeches for 
his supper. At last, Grouse resumed his com- 
posure, and continued his story. 
We were reduced now to three children,’’ 
he said, and myself, and we hoped to keep 
our little family together for the remainder of 
the season. Snares could not catch us, we 
thought, and as for guns, we had no fear of 
them, for we had learned to keep a safe dis- 
tance from all men, and we always flew off*, 
the moment we heard a heavy step in the 
woods. 
For a few days we got along very well, 
and we began to recover our spirits, that had 
had such fearful shocks. One day, however, 
we were again afflicted, and we gave up all 
hope. It had been raining all day, and was 
pouring harder than ever towards night, when 
we came to an old log in the woods that was 
lifted from the ground for half its length, and 
thus afforded a comfortable shelter from the 
storm. Running ahead of me, full of glee at 
