But not if any one was around.

They was a crow he had made a pet of, used to hop around in front of him, and try fur to talk to him.

If he went to sleep in the front yard whilst he was reading, that crow had a favourite trick of stealing his spectacles off'n his nose and flying up to the ridgepole of the house, and cawing at him.

Once he had been setting out a row of tomato plants very careful, and he got to the end of the row and turned around, and that there crow had been hopping along behind very sollum, pulling up each plant as he set it out.

It acted like it had done something mighty smart, and knowed it, that crow.