THE WATER-HEN 
among the weeds and cried to be covered, so he 
took it under his feathers and warmed it. But 
although Karruck was a good father he con- 
sidered it his function to stand up and proclaim 
aloud the progress of the night, and when- 
ever he did this the chick slipped into the 
water. Just before dawn, being cramped with 
long sitting, he went slug-hunting along the 
bank and left the chick by himself. The latter, 
cold and lonely, set out to find his mother. 
In the dusk the passages through the weeds 
were mapped out as daric paths among the mass 
of white crowfoot flowers, and before he had 
gone three yards he had lost his way hopelessly 
among them. Presently he heard his mother 
cluck, and there was a gentle lip-lap of break- 
ing ripples. He believed that Cearc-uise was 
swimming ahead and paddled towards the place 
gladly. 
But Cearc-uise was really on the other side of 
the Pool. It was growing light when she 
heard the appeal, and presently she saw the 
waif struggling along close to the bank. She 
was just going to swim across when she 
suddenly saw the heron, standing lank and 
silent on the brink. His bill lay on his breast, 
but she knew that all the while his eye was 
following the unconscious chick, who after his 
custom was paddling close inshore. She saw 
