“But they were an altogether unusual pair, these two.  In the first place, receiving all the food and all the attention that were usually divided among four or five, they had grown and feathered extraordinarily fast, till now they were ready for flight, while their fellows in the neighboring nests were still ragged and ‘quilly’ looking.  In the second place, they had inherited from their eccentric parents an altogether surprising amount of originality.  Their feathers were beautifully firm and black and glossy, their beaks sharp and polished; and in their full, dark, intelligent eyes there was an impishness that even a crow might regard as especially impish.”

“What’s impish?” demanded the Babe.

“Goodness me!  Don’t you know what impish is?” exclaimed Uncle Andy.  He thought a moment, and then, finding it a little difficult to explain, he added with convenient severity: 

“If you will listen, you’ll find out, perhaps.”

“Well, the two grew so fast that, before their parents realized at all what precocious youngsters they were, they had climbed out upon the edge of the nest and begun to stretch their fine wings.  With hoarse expostulations their father tried to persuade them back.  But their mother, who was not so conservative, chuckled her approval and flew off to hunt young mice for them.  Thus encouraged, they ignored their father’s prudent counsels, and hopped out, with elated squawks, upon the branch.  Whereupon the father, somewhat huffed, flew up to the very topmost branch of the tree and perched there, swaying in the breeze, and trying to forget his family cares.  From this high post of observation he presently caught sight of an eagle, winging his way up from the swamp at the lower end of the valley.  With a sharp signal cry for volunteers, he dashed off in pursuit.  He was joined by two other crows who happened to be at leisure; and the three, quickly overtaking the majestic voyager, began to load him with impertinence and abuse.  With their comparatively short but very broad wings the crows could dodge so nimbly in the air that if was quite impossible for their great enemy to catch them.  He made no attempt to do so.  Indignantly he changed the direction of his flight, and began to soar, climbing gradually into the blue in splendid, sweeping circles; while the crows, croaking mockery and triumph, kept flapping above him and below, darting at his eyes, and dashing with open beaks at the shining whiteness of his crown.  They dared not come near enough to actually touch him, but they succeeded in making themselves most unpleasant.  The eagle glared at them steadily with his fierce, black-and-yellow eyes, but otherwise seemed to pay them no attention whatever.  Only he kept mounting higher and higher, till at last his impish tormentors—­impish, I said—­dared follow him no farther.  They came fluttering down hurriedly to more congenial levels, and flew back to the grove to boast of their ‘great victory.’”