ON THE MOTHERLINESS OF MAN
It was only a piece of broken glass.From its shape and colour, Ishould say it had, in its happier days, formed portion of a cheap scent-bottle.Lying isolated on the grass, shone upon by the early morning sun, it certainly appeared at its best.It attracted him.
He cocked his head, and looked at it with his right eye.Then he hopped round to the other side, and looked at it with his left eye.
With either optic it seemed equally desirable.
That he was an inexperienced young rook goes without saying.An older bird would not have given a second glance to the thing.
Indeed, one would have thought his own instinct might have told him that broken glass would be a mistake in a bird's nest.But its glitter drew him too strongly for resistance.I am inclined to suspect that at some time, during the growth of his family tree, there must have occurred a mesalliance, perhaps worse.Possibly a strain of magpie blood?--one knows the character of magpies, or rather their lack of character--and such things have happened.But I will not pursue further so painful a train: I throw out the suggestion as a possible explanation, that is all.
He hopped nearer.Was it a sweet illusion, this flashing fragment of rainbow; a beautiful vision to fade upon approach, typical of so much that is un-understandable in rook life? He made a dart forward and tapped it with his beak.No, it was real--as fine a lump of jagged green glass as any newly-married rook could desire, and to be had for the taking.SHE would be pleased with it.He was a well-meaning bird; the mere upward inclination of his tail suggested earnest though possibly ill-directed endeavour.
He turned it over.It was an awkward thing to carry; it had so very many corners.But he succeeded at last in getting it firmly between his beak, and in haste, lest some other bird should seek to dispute with him its possession, at once flew off with it.
A second rook who had been watching the proceedings from the lime tree, called to a third who was passing.Even with my limited knowledge of the language I found it easy to follow the conversation: it was so obvious.
"Issachar!"
"Hallo!"
"What do you think? Zebulan's found a piece of broken bottle.He's going to line his nest with it.""No!"
"God's truth.Look at him.There he goes, he's got it in his beak.""Well, I'm --!"
And they both burst into a laugh.
But Zebulan heeded them not.If he overheard, he probably put down the whole dialogue to jealousy.He made straight for his tree.By standing with my left cheek pressed close against the window-pane, Iwas able to follow him.He is building in what we call the Paddock elms--a suburb commenced only last season, but rapidly growing.Iwanted to see what his wife would say.
At first she said nothing.He laid it carefully down on the branch near the half-finished nest, and she stretched up her head and looked at it.
Then she looked at him.For about a minute neither spoke.I could see that the situation was becoming strained.When she did open her beak, it was with a subdued tone, that had a vein of weariness running through it.
"What is it?" she asked.
He was evidently chilled by her manner.As I have explained, he is an inexperienced young rook.This is clearly his first wife, and he stands somewhat in awe of her.
"Well, I don't exactly know what it's CALLED," he answered.
"Oh."
"No.But it's pretty, isn't it?" he added.He moved it, trying to get it where the sun might reach it.It was evident he was admitting to himself that, seen in the shade, it lost much of its charm.
"Oh, yes; very pretty," was the rejoinder; "perhaps you'll tell me what you're going to do with it."The question further discomforted him.It was growing upon him that this thing was not going to be the success he had anticipated.It would be necessary to proceed warily.
"Of course, it's not a twig," he began.
"I see it isn't."
"No.You see, the nest is nearly all twigs as it is, and I thought--"
"Oh, you did think."
"Yes, my dear.I thought--unless you are of opinion that it's too showy--I thought we might work it in somewhere."Then she flared out.
"Oh, did you? You thought that a good idea.An A1 prize idiot Iseem to have married, I do.You've been gone twenty minutes, and you bring me back an eight-cornered piece of broken glass, which you think we might 'work into' the nest.You'd like to see me sitting on it for a month, you would.You think it would make a nice bed for the children to lie on.You don't think you could manage to find a packet of mixed pins if you went down again, I suppose.
They'd look pretty 'worked in' somewhere, don't you think?--Here, get out of my way.I'll finish this nest by myself." She always had been short with him.
She caught up the offending object--it was a fairly heavy lump of glass--and flung it out of the tree with all her force.I heard it crash through the cucumber frame.That makes the seventh pane of glass broken in that cucumber frame this week.The couple in the branch above are the worst.Their plan of building is the most extravagant, the most absurd I ever heard of.They hoist up ten times as much material as they can possibly use; you might think they were going to build a block, and let it out in flats to the other rooks.Then what they don't want they fling down again.
