sharp pecks with his long beak as an additional safeguard. Then he
settled down and ate a portion, carrying the best part away to his nest
to share with his mate.

Now, if that snake had kept his temper and not become excited, he might
have realized that by poking his nose under the burrs he could lift them
and get away with only a few scratches.

However, there are times when even boys and girls let their anger get
the best of them, so why should we expect more wisdom in a poor, foolish
snake!

Sometimes the snake doesn't kill itself, but only becomes tired out and
lies down motionless, when the little road-runner comes over and pecks
him to death. There are only a few animals, birds or insects who can
kill a rattlesnake, and the road-runner does this about as neatly as
any.

[Illustration: _A Desert May Party_]

[Illustration]

A DESERT MAY PARTY

"WHY, Mamma, the very idea! Who ever heard of a desert May party?" I
hear some tiny girl exclaim, "A desert is all sand, if there were
flowers there it would not be desert at all."

Ah, yes, my dear, I used to think so, too, but to Mary it was no
surprise. She had spent the winter on the desert, had seen the heavy
rains, and afterwards had watched how rapidly the sturdy little green
shoots would push their way up through the hard unsympathetic soil.
Generally once a year the desert puts on its party dress and is dotted
with a gorgeous mass of blossoms.

The rains come at intervals in the winter and early spring and the
heavier and more frequent they are, the greater will be the flower
growth. The March and April rains this year had been heavy. There had
been days when Cousin Jack had come in with his raincoat dripping and
declared that he knew Mt. Kenyon would be washed away. Now and then a
cloudburst would strike terror to Mary's tender heart. She had gone out
when the weather cleared and watched the warm earth rise up and break,
while the little green things peeped through and took their first look
at the sun. The ground was always warm and it was amazing to see how
rapidly things would grow if you but gave them water.

The thing that now troubled Mary was the fact that she had no one to ask
to share her party. Of course there was Jack, but Jack was only a boy
and a May party, above all else, means girls.

It is strange what unexpected things happen at times, even in lonesome
mining camps. The thought had barely entered her little curly head wh