Posted in Nature Study

I'm just thrilled with my boys!  We are currently reading Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling which is turning everyday, more and more into a unit study than the geography  lesson that it is pegged for at Ambleside Online but that is okay because my boys are taking exciting bunny trails and learning so much. 

In chapter 3 of the book the Indian boy gives the magpie a souvenir trophy of a buffalo tail.  Well, my boys are asking so many questions that I go looking for the bird field guide and they immediately go to our Burgess Bird Book to see if magpie has a chapter.  It doesn't, so after some bird research, I suggest that they write another chapter for Burgess about the magpie.   This is what they wrote:

DS8:

            “Mag?  Mag?  Mag?”

            “What was that?” cried Peter Rabbit.

            “That my friend, is an old friend of mine,” said Jenny Wren, “I’m sure he is about to pick up something shiny.”

            “There he goes!” says Peter Rabbit “yep!  He got something shiny.  In fact, he got my pocketknife!”

            Jenny Wren laughed.

            Peter Rabbit yelled, “Come back!  Come back!” as he was running.  The bird turned around and started flying at Peter Rabbit backwards!  “Ah!” said Peter Rabbit as he ran back to Jenny Wren.

            Jenny Wren laughed even harder, “You think he is going to eat you?  Silly Peter, Magpie likes to eat bugs and slugs.”

            “But he was attacking me!”

            “Well, sometimes they attack wounded livestock.”

            “Just hearing about it makes me shiver.”

            “Well, magpie is a little bit of a thief.  Not only does he like shiny things, he likes to steal eggs too.”

DS10:

            Peter was walking along one day, when he came upon a magpie --- and jumped out of his skin!  The magpie was eating a dead mule.  The jewelry everywhere was blinding and the magpie was cooking an omelet!  There was only one and Peter knew the saying:

            One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for marriage, four for birth.

            Five for heaven, six for the other place and seven belong to the devils own            soul!

Peter ran home as fast as he could, on the way falling into a stream two times, running into a tree twice, tripping over 12 rocks, running into 5 thorn bushes, fell into a d-e-e-e-e-p dark hole and even got pecked by Jenny Wren.  He was sore the whole next day. 

            Jenny Wren came up to him and said, “Sorry about pecking you yesterday.  What was scaring you?”

            “I-it was a-a ma-ma-mag…”

            “A magpie?”

            “Yes!  A magpie!  it was only one.”

            “Oh that’s just my friend Mag.  She is on the dark side a bit, you know, a murderer and a thief and the sorrow part is sorrowful, but otherwise she is okay.”

            “She does keep lots of jewelry” said Peter Rabbit.

            “Yes,” said Jenny “that kind of stuff delights her.”

            Peter interrupted, “Why does she eat EGGS, and how does she eat donkeys?”

            “The eggs a bad habit; the donkey, well, that’s more complicated.  She is a born fighter.  First she spots a weak animal, then she kills and eats it.  Did you notice the bluish-greenish tint in her wings?”

            “No, her jewelry was too sparkly and I was in a hurry.”

            Jenny said, “I would stay away from her.  But if you decide you want to know her, when she is in a mood, she raises her extremely long tail.”

THE END