On Hearing a Winter Wren Sing in W^inter By LYNN TEW SPRAGUE When wintry winils through woodlands blow And naked tree-tops shake and shiver ; While all the paths were bound in snow. And thick ice cliains the merry river, One little feathered denizen, A plump and nut-brown winter wren. Sings of spring-time even there — "• Tsip-tvvis-ch-e-e-e cheerily-cheerily-dare ' — Who could listen and despair ? Charmed with the sweetness of his strain, My heart found cheer in winter's bluster ; The leafless wood was fair again, Its ice-gems sparkled with new luster. The tiny, trembling, tinkling throat Poured forth despair's sure antidote, No leafy June hears sweeter note — '■ Tsip-twis-ch-e-e-e cheerily-cheerily-dare " The essence of unspoken prayer. "CALGHT IN JHh AC i " Ycllow-bollifd Sapsuckcr iordinn nii s.ip of mnuntain oak. Phoiouraphcd froiii naliirc by Dr. Tln)>. S. Robrrts al Minnrnpoliii. Minn.. June zn. n^i
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