THE MAGPIE. 
There was no necessity to name the offender, for every one 
knew that none but the magpie conld think of such a thing. 
He had seen the boys actively engaged on the slide, and 
decided that they must value it very much. Accordingly, he 
promenaded the slide hi a slow and dignified manner, breaking 
np the half-frozen mass into innumerable elevations and de- 
pressions, and so quite destroyed the smooth surface which had 
been so carefully preserved.” 
The same magpie was the perpetrator of another dirty piece 
of work, and in this wise. It appears that he particularly 
affected one part of the building, which was formerly a stable, 
but at that time was devoted to various purposes, one of which 
was knife-cleaning. The boy who did that business had on this 
morning put on a clean collar, and being unwilling to soil it 
unnecessarily, had taken it off and laid it on a chair. When 
the knife-cleaning operation was over, the boy was going to 
mount the collar again, but found it covered with mud. Ho 
one, to his knowledge, had been in the place but himself, but 
upon inquiry the magpie was found to be the delinquent. 
He had watched his opportunity, and seizing upon the collar 
while its owner’s back was turned, he carried it into the yard, in 
which there was a puddle ; he then carefully placed it in the 
muddy water, trod it down once or twice with his feet, took 
it in its beak and replaced it on the chair. 
