11.] THE HISTORY OF A ROOK. ot

 

I found the wood, and the track, without much
difficulty, and before settling down in it, took the
precaution of perching in the branches of a neighbour-
ing oak, in order to make sure that the coast was
clear. No human being was in sight; the pheasants
were feeding quietly in their accustomed place, and I
saw with delight that their food was maize, large,
delicious-looking grains of which lay plentifully scat-
tered upon the ground. As numerous cock pheasants
were making their breakfast near my tree, and I knew
cock pheasants to be birds who are occasionally of a
selfish nature, I deemed it best to alight at a respectful
distance from them, in order to avoid the possibility
of a quarrel. Accordingly, I flew some little way
along the track, and then settled upon a spot where
the maize was not so thickly scattered, but where
there was still an ample supply for my wants. Being
remarkably hungry that morning, I did not scruple to
feed heartily upon this wholesome food, and, hopping
along as I picked up the grain, I found myself near
the hedge which separated the wood from a field.
The maize appeared to have been strewn right up to
the hedge, and observing that there was plenty of it
at one particular spot, I hopped rapidly on thither.
What was my horror at hearing a sudden ‘click, and
almost before I heard it, to feel the snow-clad leaves
rise up beneath my feet and the sharp fangs of a steel
trap close around one of my unhappy legs! At the
same instant the horrible truth flashed upon me.
Either some poacher, or a rascally keeper who wished
to trap his master’s pheasants, had spread maize close
up to the hedge in order to entice the birds, and where