THE HERON 
door. Twice she jumped at the furze-bound 
hurdle and fell back. The third time it 
slipped down with a clatter and she vanished. 
With dawn the captive saw an oblong of sky, 
which the furze had blocked before, and 
strode towards it. The fowls were out already, 
and ran after him aggressively. . . . Half an 
hour later Andy found him preening himself 
and at his feet two dead chickens. 
" Begob ! it's time you went, me lad," 
growled Andy and walked towards his escaped 
prisoner. The heron spread out his great 
wings and half hopped half flew up the glen. 
" Shure there's still a heron in Ballongarry," 
said Andy Hogan. 
II 
The little heron had lived in bewilderment 
among miracles for the past two days, but 
now, standing on the threshold of the woods, 
his being responded to their stimulus, and he 
began to take his proper place in the scheme 
of things. He misdoubted the tree trunks at 
first, for they looked like men, but as they did 
not molest him, he began to pace sedately 
between the stacks of timber. It was a very 
bright and full world, but nothing in it took 
any notice of him, until he came to the tits. 
217 
