Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

birds in the arbor above were doing the crying. Thinking to scare the cat so badly that it would drop the bird, Jim shouted and ran at the cat, who however, seized a firmer grip on the bird, and turning tail ran down the arbor and slipped under a barn. The bird had no doubt been drinking at the pan. Since then the robins have been more wary and do not come so often.

     Shortly before dinner I was surprised to hear of sort of soft roaring sound that at first sounded to come from nowhere in particular, but which steadily grew louder. Presently rain began to patter down, great big glistening drops, whose size was indeed unusual. I thought we were getting the tail end of a storm raging somewhere else, but a loud clap of thunder quite closer at hand dispelled this idea and sent me down-stairs, and out on the front porch.The rain_, now coming down in sheets, was driving straight