United States or Algeria ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Cloctaw, the jackdaw, who had flown to the council with him, upon arrival, left his side, and perched rather in the rear. Reynard, the fox, and Sec, the stoat, his friend, waited the approach of the king by some fern near the foot of the pollard.
He had reckoned, it seems, upon the assistance of Cloctaw, of St. Paul's, who has great influence among the jackdaws. Cloctaw, however, avoided him and came hither, and Kauc vows he will destroy him. "I know not which is most formidable, the violent Ki Ki or the ruthless Kauc. The latter, I feel sure, is only waiting till he sees an opening to rush in and slaughter us.
"The fox," cried Tchink, "impossible he's nobody." "Certainly not," said Te-te, "a mere nonentity." "Quite out of the question," said the goldfinch. "Out of the running," said the hare. "Absurd," said the jay; and they all raised a clamour, protesting that even to mention the fox was to waste the public time. "I am not so sure of that," muttered Cloctaw. "We might do worse; I should not object."
There were many pleasant places not so exposed, as the gurgoyle, the leads, the angle of the roof, where he could rest without such an effort; and upon their part they would willingly assist him by collecting twigs for a new nest. But Cloctaw turned a deaf ear to these kindly proposals, and could not be made to see the advantages so benevolently suggested.
"Ahem!" said Cloctaw, as if clearing his throat. The fox detected his meaning, and slyly glanced towards him, when Cloctaw looked at Bevis and winked. "Ladies and gentlemen, you have indeed set me a most difficult task so difficult, that should I succeed in solving this problem, I hope shall obtain your complete confidence.
He chaffed the owl, and joked with Tchink; then he laughed to himself, and tried to upset the grave old Cloctaw from his seat, and, in short, played all sorts of pranks to the astonishment of everybody, who had hitherto seen him in such distress for the loss of his lady-love. Everybody thought he had lost his senses.
So he kept a very sharp eye on Kauc, for the fact was they had had many a quarrel when they were younger, and Cloctaw was not at all sure that he should not have a beak suddenly driven through his head. "The truth is," said the crow, in a hoarse whisper, "there's a chance for you and me. There's only you and me left." "I see," said Cloctaw; "but we could not both be king."
"The squirrel," continued the owl, "has an acknowledged authority over this copse; and the jay has three or four firs of his own." "And St. Paul belongs to me," said Cloctaw, the jackdaw. "Well, now," said the owl, raising his voice and overpowering the husky Cloctaw, "about these various properties little or no dispute can take place; the son succeeds to the father, and the nephew to the uncle.
When they had gone a short distance the crow said he wanted to say something very particular, so they perched together on a lonely branch. "What is it?" said Cloctaw. "The fact is," said the crow, "my belief is come a little nearer my belief is that Kapchack's reign is coming to an end. People won't put up with this." "Ah," said the jackdaw, "if that is the case who is to be king?"
As Kauc, the crow, was saying to Cloctaw, the jackdaw, this morning " "But who is it?" asked Bevis, jumping up again in a rage. "Why, everybody knows who it is," said the squirrel; "from the ladybird to the heron; from the horse to the mouse; and everybody is talking of it, and as since the raven went away, there is no judge to settle any dispute "
Word Of The Day