When she was near enough she shook the branch violently.

There was a crack--a crash--it broke.

I shut my eyes, expecting to see her crushed on the ground before me.
"Don't be afraid," said the lady again, laughing gently.

"Look, she is quite safe." I looked, and so she was.

She had caught a bough as she fell, clung to it, and was now calmly dropping to another.