The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-06
n,-rHE LITTLE KINGS OF THE INTERVALS.

llI-T1E LITTLE KINGS OF THE lNTERVALE
BY Charles G. D. Roberts, Wfd,"
"The Forge In the Forest" 1.-THE Heart
Of the Ancient Wood
Copyright, 1909 by Robert Howard Russen)
2 AR out over pale smooth surface
flew, Tapping heavily From time to time he uttered
angry and frightened squawk Over under and all around
him darting at his eyes, dropping upon him like
little,
wing his formidable bea flashed small dark bird
whose siverywhte belly and then caught the sun
The accustomed alert self possession shat
tered He had quite forgotten his of attack He
seemed fear for his all the wild kindred
daunting than that When he ducked
and and tried to dodge he did it awkward if
his presence all gone.
M assaiant, his weight, king
bird whose nest the crotch of elm the intervae
meadow, been advised investigate.
comparatively inexperienced would
known enough to keep from the nest Of the
plain sight loved tender
nestngs time to which that
both the parent birds had fallen him
with swift erocy which speedily took away appetite
Their sturdy and burning sharp.
Their short powerful wings them flight so swift and
darling that superior himself
their His thought was to save his eyes and
chased till river.
female returned her leaving her mate to
complete Had the been
md cunning the extreme
heights of where the king bird is disnclned to follow
lacking kept level of
tles tree tops and was forced to take his lie
reality, terrified than actually injured
dartng beak of his
tualy eyes, probable only
the to thank When, at last the
chaStSer
toward the nest crotch, rufled took
the the densest hemloc, where
he rolled his his punage silently for
before daring again the vcssitudes of wilderness
world.
triumphant king bird hurried back
was audacously peched in plain view Of every prowe The
elm which it occupied about twelve
feet from the ground The intervae or by
river widely scattered trees
trees of growth such em balsam poplar and water
ash It free from all underbrush There nothing
therefore, shield the most careless
of matched only by that
Tufts white wool from neghbong sheep pasture
into its bulky irregular SO irregular and hap
indeed appear might almost
mistaken for bunch of rubbish left in the tree from the
time of freshet But if the two kngbirds relied this
conceamen they presumed clever
bird likely to the blindness stupidity of
kindred. wild kindred seldom blind
very stupid,
possessed Of later feed
their fellows Hence it was that most of the folk of the
side feathered
whtish bunch of rubbish in the elm crotch was
five the bottom of the smooth,
cup which formed They
smaller than robins and of soft white,
botched irregulary dull purplsh of varying
tone So jealous Of these notified king
the most harmless of visitors al
lowed to look upon them. much thrush, a
pewee or hammered presumed aght
the branch of that em it was brusquey
One morning early king-bir sitting,
was his the naked tip Of long slender
dead branch some nest. The morning
it little early for the flies which
formed his food to be stirring But he hungry and
alert the first of them to appear Only the tense
show the hameorange
his kingly betrayed his eageTnes for
self beginning
the red topmos edge of it's rim thru the jagged line of
level streaks of aerial
creeping filed all Swallowed places
with mysterious light The eastward sides
branches glimmered pink
there shone like pale jewels Of
pink violet The mirrorke surface of the river
twisting spras mist slvery and opales
cent which the figure of duck in straight
a missile.
AS the king watching with
bright of the veradventurous
dragon-y weedtop below him and flew into the
bird dared straight and true, zig-zagged
sharply caught the lean prize
carried to his mate the nest Then
he to his post the branch
the hill, and warmth dried their
wings began softly with dancing flies
hurrying king bird continually
with soft CHS sole attempt
song) between successful sally At length the female
here Of an