howing only beaks and, later, immature
tails above the edge.

Once, very early in their lives, came a steady rain. All night long the
devoted mother received the downpour on her back, and all the next day,
with short intervals of food-seeking, she remained at her post, while
the water ran off her tail in streams. She kept her younglings warm and
dry, but the nest was sadly damaged, the lichen covering was softened
and brightened in color, and the whole structure spread and settled, so
that I feared it would not hold together till the little ones were
grown.

[Sidenote: _A MALICIOUS-LOOKING APPLE._]

There, too, was the ever-present menace of falling apples, which were
constantly dropping from the tree. A well-loaded branch hung over the
nest, and one particularly malicious-looking specimen of an angry
reddish hue, suspended as it appeared exactly above, had a deep dimple
in one side which gave it a sinister expression, and one could not help
the suspicion that it might delight in letting go its hold and dashing
that frivolous nursery to the ground.

The very leaves themselves appeared to show character. I was never so
impressed by their behavior, though I had previously seen some curious
performances that looked very much as if leaves have minds of their own.
Three inches from the little homestead grew a twig bearing a clump of
leaves, perhaps five or six. When I began watching, the largest one hung
closely over the nest, on the side toward my window, so that part of the
time the whole affair was hidden from sight. In the interest of Science
(in whose name, as well as in the name of Liberty, many crimes are
committed), I thought it necessary quietly to remove that leaf. Then,
although the remainder of the bunch still hung over the nest, two or
three inches above, my view was perfect, for I could look under them.
Strange to say, however, in a day or two I noticed that another leaf had
begun to droop over the tiny homestead. In the morning and again in the
afternoon, it held itself well up out of my way, but when the sun was
hot in the middle of the day, it fell lower and lower, till it was
almost as good a screen as its elder brother had been. Nor was that the
end of its vagaries. When a strong wind came up from the south, that
leaf drew closer, and actually hugged the nest, so that I could not see
it at all. I longed to remove it, but I had not the heart to deprive the
nestlings of their shelter. Strangest of all le