THE SYSTEMATIC YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
The people who lived in the big house were much worried about themaple trees which shaded the sidewalk around the place. It was springnow, and they feared another such summer as the last, when the lawnhad been covered with fine, healthy, large maple leaves, gnawed off byhungry Caterpillars. One could be sure they were not blown or knockedoff, for each stem was neatly eaten through at about the length of afir needle from the leaf. The lawn did not look well, and the Man whocared for it grumbled and scolded under his breath as he went aroundraking them up. He could not see that the Caterpillars were of anyuse in the world. The birds thought differently, but he was a busyMan and not used to thinking of things in that way.
Now spring had come again, and every day the people looked for moreleaves on their lawn. They had not found them yet, because theCaterpillars were not old enough to nibble through the stems. Then,one morning while they were eating their breakfast, these people hearda new voice outside. It was not a sweet voice. It sounded somewhatlike a thumping on rough boards. It was saying, "Kuk-kuk-kuk!"
Some men who were passing by stopped to look up at the trees, thenshook their heads and went on. The Little Boy wanted to leave hisbreakfast and go out at once to find the new bird, but he had to staywhere he was, eat slowly, and fold his napkin before he was allowed todo this. When he went, the Lady and the Gentleman went with him. Noneof them could see the bird, although they heard his "kuk-kuk-kuk!" infirst one tree and then another.
"I am sure that is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo," said the Lady, "and if itis, he has come for the Caterpillars that are spoiling our trees."
"Why, Mother?" asked the Little Boy. "How do you know? You didn't seehim."
"If you had your eyes shut, and I spoke to you," she replied,"wouldn't you known whose voice it was?"
The other birds also seemed to know whose voice it was, for they flewaround in fright, and scolded and chattered until the visitor had leftthat row of maples and gone far away. Even then the more timid onescould not settle down to their regular duties. "It has given me such astart," said one Robin, whose nerves were always easily upset, "that Idon't believe I can weave another grass-blade into my nest to-day."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed a Blackbird. "Eat something and you will feelall right. There is nothing like eating to make one feel better."
The Robin did as she was told and felt somewhat steadier, yet eventhen she talked of nothing else that morning. "To think of aYellow-billed Cuckoo coming here!" she said. "It makes my quillstingle to think of it. My poor babies! My poor babies!"
"Couldn't you stop worrying for a while?" her husband asked. "You knowyou have not even laid your eggs, so your children are not in dangeryet."
Mr. Robin was always gentle with his wife. The other birds didn't seehow he could stand it, for she was forever worrying about something.
"No," she replied, "they are not laid yet, but they will be, and youknow perfectly well, Mr. Robin, how glad that dreadful Cuckoo wouldbe to suck every one of them. If he were only a Black-billed Cuckoo,it would not be so bad, but I saw his bill quite plainly, and itwas yellow. Besides, he said, 'Kuk-kuk-kuk!' instead of'Kow-kow-kow-kuk-kuk!'"
"We will guard the nest carefully when the eggs are laid," said Mr.Robin. "And now I think I will go across the street to hunt." Thatalso was a wise thing to do, for Mrs. Robin was always more sensiblewhen she was alone.
The birds saw nothing more of the Cuckoo that morning, but in theafternoon he came again. He was a large and very fine-looking bird,with green-gray feathers on the upper part of his body and in themiddle of his tail, the outer tail-feathers being black with whitespots. His wings were a bright brown, and the under part of his bodywas grayish-white. His bill was a very long and strong one, and theunder half of it was yellow.
He had a habit of sitting very quietly every now and then on somebranch to think. At such times he looked handsome but stupid, andreally, when he got to thinking so, he was in great danger. It is atjust such times that Hawks like to find Cuckoos, and after a Hawk hasfound one, nobody else ever has a chance. If you remember what sort offood Hawks like, you will understand what this means.
When he was flying, however, he was exceedingly careful, alwaysflitting from tree to tree by the nearest way, and never talking untilhe was well sheltered again by leafy branches. When he came to a rowof maples, he began at one end and went right through, stopping alittle while in each to hunt. He was very systematic, and that, youknow, means that he always tried to do the same things in the sameway. This was why, during all the summer that followed, he came bothmorning and afternoon at just the same times as on that first day.That is, he did on every day but one.
Mrs. Cuckoo looked exactly like her husband. Indeed, some of theirneighbors could hardly tell them apart. She was a very poorhousekeeper. Her nest was only a few sticks laid on a bush in the edgeof an orchard. She often said that she did not take easily to homelife, so many of her great-grandparents having built no nests at all,but laid their eggs in the homes of other birds. Since this was so,people should not have expected too much of Mrs. Cuckoo.
Another thing which made it hard for her, was the way in which she hadto lay eggs, hatch eggs, and feed nestlings at the same time allsummer. This was not her fault, for of course when an egg was ready ithad to be laid, and there were seldom two ready at once. It kept herbusy and worried and tired all summer, and one could forgive her ifshe sometimes grew impatient.
"I can never half do anything after my first egg is hatched," she usedto say. "I go to get food for that child, and all the time I amworrying for fear the second egg, which I have just laid, will getcold. Of course one newly hatched nestling cannot keep a large egglike mine warm. Then, when I am having all I can do to care for childand egg, I have to stop to lay another egg."
Mr. Cuckoo was always sleek and respectable-looking. He never seemedin a hurry. He said that haste was ill-mannered. "Always take time,"he said, "to do things in the best way. If you are not sure which isthe best way, sit down and think about it." He was much annoyed byMrs. Cuckoo, and often told her how she needed to be systematic. "Youhave such a hurried way, my dear," said he. "It is really verydisagreeable."
She was naturally a sweet-tempered bird, but one day she made up hermind to let her husband see how systematic he could be in her place.At that time she had a young bird and two eggs in the nest, and wasvery sure that one of the eggs was about to hatch.
When they awakened the next morning, she said sweetly to Mr. Cuckoo,"My dear, please stay with the baby until I get back." Then she flewaway without giving him time to ask how long it would be or anythingabout it. Mr. Cuckoo was much surprised, and sat there thinking, asyou know he was likely to do, until the nestling fairly screamed forfood.
"Dear me!" said he to himself, "I must do something to keep that childstill." So he hunted food and stuffed it down the nestling's wide-openbill. While he was doing so, he remembered the eggs, which he foundrather cool. "She will never forgive me if those get cold," he said,so he hopped onto the nest and covered them with his breast. He wishedthat his wife would return. He thought that when a mother-bird hadhome cares she should stay by the nest. Just then his child cried formore food.
STUFFED IT DOWN THE WIDE-OPEN BILL. _Page 116_]
"Hush!" he exclaimed. "I cannot go now. Don't you see that I amwarming these eggs?"
"I don't care! I am hungry," cried she. "You didn't feed me enough."
"Well, I couldn't get you more just then," he said. "Now be patientuntil your mother comes. That's a good child."
"I can't be patient. I'm hungry," cried the nestling. "I want aCaterpillar."
Mr. Cuckoo could not stand teasing, so he hopped off the nest andpicked up the first Caterpillar he found. It was not a good kind, andthe little Cuckoo made a bad face and would not swallow it. Mr.Cuckoo rushed away to get a better one. That was eaten, and he wasjust getting on the eggs again when he heard a faint tapping inside ofone. This made him very nervous, for he was not us
ed to caring fornewly hatched children. He called several times to Mrs. Cuckoo, butreceived no answer.
There was more tapping, and the second child stuck his little billthrough the shell and broke it. "Ouch!" cried the older one; "thatpricks me. Take it away!"
"'Sh!" exclaimed his father, who knew that it would never do to help ayoung bird out of its shell. The elder child began to cry.
Well! You can just imagine what kind of morning Mr. Cuckoo had. He hadto quiet and feed the older child, clear away the broken shell whenthe second was out, keep the remaining egg warm, get some food forhimself, and just hurry and worry until noon. He was about worn outwhen his wife came back. She looked very trim and happy, and there wasno ill-mannered haste in her motions as she flew toward the nest.
"I have had such a pleasant morning," she said. "I met my sister andwe went hunting together. I hope you did not mind. I felt quite easyabout everything. I knew that you would manage it all beautifully,because you are so systematic." She looked at him with such a sweetsmile that he did not say any of the things which he had been planningto say about mother-birds staying at home.
Just then the elder nestling said, "I'm hungry, Mother! I haven't hada Caterpillar in ever so long."
Mrs. Cuckoo answered cheerfully, "All right, I'll get you one," andwas about to start off when Mr. Cuckoo spoke up:
"You stay here and look after your newly hatched nestling," said he."I'll get some food."
Mrs. Cuckoo was delighted to find another egg hatched, and the morningaway had been a great rest to her. Only one thing troubled her. "I dowish," she murmured, "that I could have seen Mr. Cuckoo trying to dothree or four things at once and be systematic. Now I shall never knowhow it worked."
But she did know. Her first-hatched child said, "I'm so glad you areback. It made Father cross to hurry." She also knew from anotherthing: Mr. Cuckoo never again told her to be systematic, or said thatit was ill-mannered to hurry.
And that was the one day when Mr. Cuckoo did not make his two regularhunting trips through the maple trees around the big house.
Dooryard Stories Page 11
