A SKYSCRAPER HOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 4 (Supplement)

A SKYSCRAPER HOME

By E. T. FEOST

Away up—many stories up —figuratively speaking, Mrs. Quacker had made her home. Very early in the" spring of the year, she had talked the matter over of home-building with her husband, and after a lot of searching, they decided this year, to try a skyscraper. The situation was alongside a nice, large, river, and right in the top of a kahikatea, or white pine tree, where grew a large bunch of " puwharawhara," or as we know it " Astelia," the littlq home was selected. Here, Mrs. Quacker and her mate set to work, and treading down the centre of the bunch, they lined it with down from their breasts and soon a dozen creamy eggs nestled in this cosy home. Mr. Kiore, the rat, and " Trailer," the weasel, did not know of

its existence and here, in safety, the little ducklings were hatched out. Now came the problem. How was Mqther Quacker going to get all her babies down to the water, 100 ft. below ?. She was a wise old bird however, and not for nothing had she escaped the guns of the hunters and the teeth of " Trailer" and his kind for several years past. Carefully picking up one of the babies, she placed it on her back, and gliding smoothly down to the water, dropped it in, where it was soon at homo. One by one,.all the family was brought down, and it was a very proud mother that swam out in the stream with them. Close in the wake of mother they swam, all touching each other, and in the distance, Mrs. Quacker appeared to be a very much larger bird than she really was. She knew of a nice quiet creek close by, where nice fresh weeds grew, and where shelter was always close at hand. So, gliding along peacefully, they made their way across the river, apparently unnoticed by anybody. But it is only apparently, for high up in the blue sky—so high that he appears to be almost a speck—soars " Kahu, the hawk, and his keen eyes miss nothing of what goes on below him, and just when Mrs. Quacker and her family are in the middle of the river, away from any shelter, down he swoops on to the helpless little babies. Mother sees him just in time, and gives warning to her little ones, who disappear under the water in the twinkling of an eye, and she herself, scuttles off along the surface of tha water as if unable to fly, and all Mr. Kahu gets is wet feet. Nothing daunted, however, he dashes at her again, only to find that she too has disappeared under the water. Hungry and angry, he cruises around, dashing and swooping at one and the other of the little family as they come-to the surface, but his luck is out, and they eventually all reach the shelter of the overhanging trees at the mouth of the creek, which is now to be their home. tt Poor old mother,' this large family is T& worry to her, and some are inclined to be rash and wander off by themselves, not

heeding the" warnings of mother, who knows the dangers which lnrk in some places for little ducklings, y.One morning, a couple of them thought they would strike out for pastures new, and set off up thg creek. > Swimming side by side, they went merrily along, when suddenly a commotion in the water startled them and they turned to flutter back home to mother. Alas, it was too late for one of them. Old Mr. Tuna, the big eel, who had his home in a hollow log under the water, had seen them and it was the commotion made by him as he came out of his hole, that startled them. Swiftly seizing one, he drew it under and took it to his retreat to eat at leisure.

Poor old mother lost several of her babies this way, and at last she got desperate and moved to new quarters, where they eventually all grew up and then left her to set out and make new homes for themselves.