Angels and Women (1924)

194 ANGELS AND WOMEN
danger was abroad and safety with the
Prophet.
The sons of Noah assiduously aided the
father, and without confusion the patient
brutes were bestowed in the places assigned
them. Presently the familiar note of a woodthrush
caught my ear, and looking upward,
I perceived a tree near by filled with feathered
songsters and fowls of many species.
With the enticement of grain scattered upon
the ground they followed us and were easily
settled in their new home.
Meantime a crowd of idlers had gathered
to witness this extraordinary scene. Some,
jeering the Prophet, inquired why he had
concealed his magic under the pretense of
piety and defied him to frighten them by this
exhibition of black art. Some endeavored
to drive back the animals, but were repulsed
by angry growls, or a snap of the teeth too
fierce to be again invited. Some looked on
stupidly, while the more thoughtful seemed
puzzled, and said, "What means this unnat-