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Suddenly something rose almost from under his feet, and whizzed off through the wood. There was a sound like an explosion, followed by thunder, which scared the little boy so that he jumped. But he saw that it was only Mother Mit-chee, and he had seen her do that before. He knew that the chicks were near at hand, and looked around carefully for them.
'Why didn't you build a canoe for yourself? But Mit-chee only looked wise and drummed upon the log on which he was sitting, and the sound was the sound of one making a canoe. "But the birds kept asking him to build a canoe for himself and join them.
The next morning the little boy went up the trail alone, to pay Mother Mit-chee a visit. "Good morning, Mother Mit-chee," said he, "I saw you yesterday, but Sam and Old Boze didn't, and I wouldn't tell them." "I knew you saw me," replied Mother Mit-chee, "and I knew you wouldn't tell. You are too kind-hearted for that, especially since you found the Magic Flower and learned the animal talk.
Mother Mit-chee would wait as long as she thought proper, and then tell them to "come along." And away they would go down the mountainside. At last they reached the spring. The little ones had never seen water before, and did not know what to do. But Mother Mit-chee took a drop of clear, cold water in her bill, and raised her head before she swallowed it. Each chick copied her motion exactly.
If I hadn't made him believe he could catch me he might have found my chicks." "Well," said Little Luke, "I heard Sam say that no one could find a young partridge chick, but I'm going to try it. You know since I found the Magic Flower my eyes are sharper than those of any of the other house people." "All right," said Mother Mit-chee, "I'll call them out.
"Where is Father Mit-chee?" asked the little boy of the Mother Partridge, one day. "I don't know," she answered; "I haven't seen him since I began to sit." "Well," said the little boy, "I think he's a mean, lazy scamp, to go off and leave you to take care of the family alone." "Well," said Mother Mit-chee, "it would be rather nice to have some help.
When he stopped building canoes he kept up his drumming." "Tell me about it, please," said the little boy. "All right, said Father Mit-chee, and he began this story. "In the olden days, Mit-chee the Partridge was the canoe builder for all the birds. Once upon a time they all came together on the bank of the river, and each one got into his own bark. Truly that was a fine sight to see!
Up in the woods on the side of the mountain Mother Mit-chee the Ruffled Partridge built her nest, close beside the trail. It was nothing but a little hollow in the ground, lined with leaves. It was in plain sight and you would have supposed that anyone going along the trail would have seen it. But they didn't. Old John the Indian and Sam the hired man passed it a dozen times and never noticed it.
"He doesn't know you, so I'll go ahead. Then he won't be frightened." So they went through the woods, Mother Mit-chee in the lead, till they came in sight of the Father Partridge. He was standing on a fallen log and drumming. Just how he did it the little boy could not tell. He flapped his wings like a rooster, and seemed to beat the log or his own sides.
Little Luke set him very carefully on the ground. "Don't worry," said he, "he isn't hurt, he's only a little scared." "Well," said Mother Mit-chee, "I must take these babies of mine down to the spring and teach them how to drink. They have never tasted water yet." "Kreet, kreet, come along, come along," called Mother Mit-chee.
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