One could hear it all over
the parish. Unobserved, she flew straight to the nest. Her big, dark,
cunning eyes blazed for an instant, but she knew it was all her fault,
and she thought it best to make no fuss. Hastily she dropped the empty
shell over the side of the nest, and then took her place dutifully on
the three remaining eggs. In a few minutes the rest of the crows got
tired of scolding the squirrel in his hole and came _ca_-ing back to
the pine tree to talk the matter over. When her mate, all in a fume,
hopped onto the edge of the nest, the mother looked up at him with eyes
of cold inquiry, as much as to say: 'Well, I'd like to know what all
this fuss is about. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, acting that
way about a wretched squirrel!' Of course, she may not have said all
that. But she certainly gave all the other crows the impression that
there was nothing wrong about _her_ nest, and that they had better go
and look after their own. Thereupon they all said sarcastic things to
their fellow citizen and left him indignantly. He, poor fellow, found
it impossible to explain or justify himself, because his mate was
sitting on the eggs; so he flew off in a huff to try and find a
sparrow's nest to rob.
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