"Then I crept gently on, and I moistened the feet
Of a shrub which infolded a nest—
The bird in return sang his merriest song,
And showed me his feathery crest.
"How joyous I felt in the bright afternoon,
When the sun, riding off in the west,
Came out in red gold from behind the green trees
And burnished ray tremulous breast!
"My memory now can return to the time
When the breeze murmured low plaintive tones,