WILD LIFE ON THE WING 
" Where did he come from ? " asked the child, 
when lolar was first brought in. 
" I'm after catching him on the church," said 
his father. 
The child looked up at the golden vane 
so high above his 
head, and then down 
at the prisoner in the 
cage. At last he said 
sedately : " Then he's 
very low down now." 
And he spent most of 
that day in watching 
the captive. Later, 
he brought sticky 
sweets and pieces of 
bread and poked them 
between the bars, but 
lolar dashed about so 
fiercely that he ran away and was afraid to go 
near the cage again. lolar was glad of this : 
he only asked to be left alone. He hated man 
and all his cunning. Nevertheless, every day 
men came to look at him. They blew foul 
smoke into the cage, and touched him with 
their sticks to see whether he were lively. 
He hated them all. When he cursed them to 
their faces for all that they had put on him, 
they laughed at him and twanged the bars. 
72 
