ernoon" or as "Tommy-round-the House." Magpies
also are great favourites with the country people at this season,
as they become quite tame, and hop in and out of the cottages. They
are regularly fed, and no one would dream of molesting them.

The Norwegians have several quaint old legends connected with some
of their birds. This is the story of the gold-crest, known in Norway
as the "bird king":

"Once upon a time the golden eagle determined to be publicly
acknowledged as king of the birds, and he called a meeting of every
kind of bird in the world. As many of the birds would come from
tropical countries, he appointed a day in the warmest month; and the
place he chose was a vast tract called Groenfjeld, where every species
of bird would feel at home, since it bordered on the sea, yet was
well provided with trees, shrubs, flowers, rocks, sand, and heather,
as well as with lakes and rivers full of fish. So on the morning of
the great congress the birds began to arrive in a steady stream, and
by noon every description of bird was represented--even the ostrich
(though how he contrived to cross the seas the story does not say). The
eagle welcomed them, and when the last hummingbird had settled down he
addressed the meeting, saying that there was no doubt that he had a
right to demand to be proclaimed their king. The spread of his wings
was prodigious, he could fearlessly look at the sun, and to whatever
height he soared he could detect the slightest movement of a fly on
the earth. But the birds objected to him on account of his predatory
habits, and then each in turn stated his own case as a claimant for
the kingship--the ostrich could run the fastest, the bird of paradise
and the peacock could look the prettiest, the parrot could talk the
best, the canary could sing the sweetest, and every one of them,
for some reason or other, was in his own opinion superior to his
fellows. After several days of fruitless discussion it was finally
decided that whichever bird could soar the highest should be, once
and for all, proclaimed king."

"Every bird who could fly at all tried his best, and the golden
eagle, confident of success, waited till last. Eventually he spread
his wings, and as he did so an impudent little gold-crest hopped
(unbeknown to his great rival) on to his back. Up went the eagle,
and soon outdistanced every other bird. Then, when he had almost
reached the sun, he shouted out, 'Well, here I am, the highest of
all!