A little reed-warbler gives a voice to a hole in the swamp and sings and trills in thin staccato. The sight of an insect causes it simultaneously to increase its volume of sound and to curve upwards from the ground. For a moment it hangs with outspread wings motionless in the air—then sinks slowly and gracefully, singing all the time.
White watches the bird’s movements lazily; her interest is so small that her tail-tip scarcely curls.
The fly is not captured, nor was that really the little songster’s intention.... The insect had merely roused its desire to leave its gloomy hole and climb up into the fresh air and sunshine.
But now partridges begin to lend the fields voices; yellow-hammers twitter in the hedges; starlings in the village wood; linnets in the depths of the hawthorn thicket.
In a patch of weeds near one of the swamps a sucking-calf wakes from its slumber. It has a skin like a lion and a pair of glittering-black, leopard’s eyes; but in other respects could not possibly be mistaken for a beast of prey. Although they have never seen such a creature before, the kittens practically ignore it; except for White, who feels enormously attracted the moment she catches a whiff of the sweet cow-smell.
The calf is still so feeble that it cannot stand upon its legs. Its eyes follow the small white visitor languidly, as the kitten with arched back and rigid tail rubs herself affectionately against its neck.
White delights in the warm animal-odour which streams in over her; closer and closer she presses herself against the calf, miauwing all the while coyly and ingratiatingly.
The flies assemble in multitude on the baby calf’s wrinkled, red skin; White catches a score of them with ease, and thereby satisfies her appetite; then, discovering a thick layer of milk scum on her host’s muzzle, she cautiously licks that off too. Finally she curls herself up between the animal’s legs and goes to sleep.
The others continue hunting....
Scattered about at irregular intervals in the form of a fan, they spread themselves out over the landscape.