76 
THE NORTHLAND BIRD LIFE 
than juicy young goose, 
but when he saw five pairs 
of fresh red feet hanging 
right down toward him, 
he just couldn’t resist the 
temptation to straighten 
out one of those hard, 
bony arms and open one 
of those hard, bony hands, 
and close up a pair of 
hard, bony fingers, so just 
as Philander Goose was 
singing his verse for the 
forty-ninth time, he gave a 
little startled scream, then 
a wild “Mother! Mother!” 
and with a little cough and 
a gurgle disappeared be¬ 
neath the water. 
Mother Goose saw it 
all, and was right out 
there in an instant. She 
went under the water with 
one plunge and very soon 
the water was all stirred 
