The Golden Bird

The Peckerwood Pan hovered just at my shoulder, and together we beheld what was to me the most wonderful phenomenon of nature that had ever come my way. No sunset from Pike's Peak or high n

was thrust suddenly from within it. The shell fell apart, and out stepped the first small Leghorn Bird with an assurance that had an undoubted resemblance to that of his masculine parent. For a moment he blinked and balanced; then he stretched his small wings and shook himse

ct little batch of babies was being born. "Whew, Farmer Craddock, but those are fine chickens! Heaven help us, but they are all exploding at one time! Only eggs of one h

me take him in my hand!" I exclaimed as that five-minute-old baby presse

twelve hours now. Come away before the t

, as he pocketed the torch and left the drama of birth dark and without footlights.

an hour before dawn, and it is fifteen good miles or more. I want to roll against a log somewhere and sleep a bit, and it is now after ten o'clock. Go get your bundle, and I'll hang it on my stick,

e chant down into my heart. "There are so many live things that I must sta

ing eyes against my lips. "You'll be waiting when I come back, and you'll go wit

ed, with one of the last laughs that my heart was to know, for s

y breast. "I am going away to-night, and I don't know when I can get back. I only knew to-day I'd have to go; that's why I-I took you and put my

things. I'll wait for you, and no matter when you come I'll be ready

nd you can go back and forth between my-my brood and

ir perfumes, and watched Adam go padding swiftly and silently away from me down the long avenue of elms. A mocking-bird in a tree over by the fence was pouring out showers of notes of liquid love, and ringdoves c

ding her love until somehow it waxes so strong and brave that it can face death by starvati

d friends have at least a part of the attraction for you that is vested in, well, say old Mrs. Red Ally, for instance. Will you or will you not come in to dine and to wine and to

el about a mere friend of my childhood like I do about her," I answered

and no wounded pride, as she left the car in one mot

r sufficient to keep the small fledglings warm, though orphaned. Did the week-old babies Leghorn have to be content with such mechanical mothering? Not at all! Right in the middle of the brooder sat the old Red Ally, and her huge red wings were stretched out to cover about twenty-five of the metal-born babies and part of her own fifteen, a

and taking others in. Oh, Ann!" exclaimed Bess

ent as were those of my sympathetic friend, Elizabeth Rutherford. "And you ought to see her take them a

to mine, "I suppose I ought to marry Owen this June. I want to have anot

ed her, which was a very safely nonc

cessary food, and it is much larger than any of mine or his in my conservatory. Owen is th

-so-" I paused for a word to express the tenderness that was in dear old Matt's face as he

se you asked him to look after her. He is the sweetest thing to her-just like old Mrs. Red here, spreads his wings and fuss

ished Polly Corn-tassel upon all of you. You are just as crazy about the apple-blossom

ts at my dinner-dance the other night, standing and looking at everybody with all the fascination and coquetry of-of-well, t

be at all routed by a few yards of lace and muslin and a current copy of 'The Woman's Review'? Aunt Mary made that dress betw

barn-door. "The reason I just feel like devouring Polly Corn-tassel is that somehow she seems to taste li

a strange chant began to play itself on my hear

d the drive from the front of Elmnest and stopped by Bess's roadster. On the front seat sat Matthew, and Corn-tassel was beside him, but the rest

he elbow in it. It is all hard and not short in a single grain. We are going to trade you half." And Polly's blue eyes, which still l

s he beamed down upon me with a delight equal to Polly's, and somehow

what I would do next for food, because I owe Ru

sked Bess, in a busin

answered Matthew, with the greatest nonchalance, as if h

, lest thieves break into the garage and steal. Also I made him send me plebeian carnations instead of violets for Belle Proctor's dinner Tuesday," said Bess, with covetousness in her eyes as sh

red duffer," said Matthew, as he

from long experience would bring on a war of words between her and Matthew when a large and cheerfu

l distance, and handed me a bunch of sweet clover-pinks with a spring perfume that made me think of the breath of Pan O'Woods as I buried my lips in them. "You, Polly, go ri

our wheat, Mother?" asked Polly as she snuggled up to her mother, who

m ready to strain up," answered Aunt Mary, with a merry twinkle in her eye as she

said Matthew, with rea

hat has come over the telephone in the bank to all of Riverfield,

all asked

s district, and the governor has opened riz biscuits with me many a time. I told him 'Thank you, sir,' we would all come and hear the young man talk about what he didn't know, and he laughed and rang off. Yes, we are all going in a kind of caravan of vehicles, and I want you to go, Nancy, in the family coach and take Mrs. Tillett with you on account of

o have that dance for me, Mother," said Polly, with the violet

r said that all the folks at Cloverbend and Providence and Hillsboro are going,

hew, promptly enough to prevent the drenching of the violets. "I

dances. Polly, he dances like nothing earthly. Still Matthew won't let him come near you; he's deadly to women. We are all positively drugg

of such generalship in her eye that I was afraid even to mention my one-sided feud with the hero of the hour. "You ca

Mother Corn-tassel," said Matthew,

the Addcocks?" Bess and the pessimistic Mrs. Addcock had got togethe

decreed the general, as she ran over in her mind's eye the rest of the population of Riverfield. "I'll make all the men hitch their best teams to the differen

two Spains in my lap," I he

is the way he speaks to women and children." As he answered, he piled Aunt Mary an

t-bags. "I miss you so, and Belle weeps at the mention of you. She and I are having dinner at the Old Hickory Club with

t about breakfast time, I should say, not being wise in biology or natural history; the entire Bird family are invited to supper with me, and I even have to carry a repast of corn over the meadows to my pet abhorrences, Rufus' swine, because he has retired to the hay-loft with a flannel rag around his head, which means I have offended him or that father ha

skirt? Of course, you always were beautiful, but now you look like-like-well, I don't know whether it is a

oad and make them walk back from the gate. They have been suffering with the Trojan warriors all day, and I know they must have exercise. Uncle Cradd

ss called back over her shoulder as she drove her car slowly around to the

y the pagan Pan," I said to mysel