She did, however, yield herself luxuriously to the springtime, the romance of the hour, the appeal of her latest cavalier, and preen herself like a mating bird.

They splatter into the shallows, drink daintily, shake out small showers over their perfect coats, and melt away again into the scrub, preening and pranking, with soft contented noises.

" "It is his Chinese wife," declared Chantel, preening his moustache.

he chuckled, preening his moustache.

The vines drooped for his tending, they said; and the pet stork who wandered in the close languished for his hand to feed the dainty morsel, and for his voice in that indulgent teasing which had provoked its proudest preening.

The Beautiful Wicked Witch went on posing and preening before the mirrors, and seemed to have forgotten all about her new little prisoner.

A number of other buggies were already there, several women were standing in groups, preening their feathers, a neighbour of ours who has a tremendous bass voice was talking to a friend: "Yas, oats is showing up well, but wheat is backward.

There for some time it sat preening its feathers, with monstrous twistings and untwistings of its snaky neck.

A rooster one morning was preening his feathers That glistened so bright in the sun; He admired the tints of the various colors As he laid them in place one by one.

" "The bird had finished his little feast and stood nonchalantly preening his feathers.

And at first they preen themselves and do not give battle, but when they are fully rested after their great journey they attack the pigmies with indescribably fury so that many are slain, but the pigmies... Queen: [taking her by the wrist] Ackazárpses!

Wishing to look their best on the occasion they repaired to the banks of a stream, where they busied themselves in washing and preening their feathers.

Jo, when he should have been preening his feathers for conquest, was saying: "Well, my God, I am hurrying!

" She picked up a buffer from the litter of ivory and silver on the dresser and began to polish her already glittering nails, turning her head this way and that, preening her neck, biting her scarlet lips to deepen their crimson, opening her eyes wide and half closing them languorously.

She stopped her idle polishing and preening to study the glowing and lovely little face that looked up at her.

I saw the house with the green door some way up the street but thinking that the near end of the street was closer to the Embankment where I had left my boat I tried the first door I came to, a cottage thatched like the rest, with little golden spires along the roof-ridge, and strange birds sitting there and preening marvellous feathers.

" The whole lofty and beautiful structure of self-complacence upon which he had lounged, preening his feathers and receiving social triumphs and the adulation of his "less fortunate fellows" as the due of his own personal superiority, suddenly slipped from under him.

He was preening his yellow moustache and flashing a challenge to her from half-shut eyes.

The kingfisher was preening his small many-hued body in the sun.

The flock, that heretofore like a group of barnyard fowls in the dust and the sun had remained indolently resting and preening their plumage, grew alert.

Mrs. Robson sat down with preening self-satisfaction.

Very careful was he of his personal appearance, pruning and preening his pretty feathers many times each day, paying special attention to his tailnot more than an inch longbut what a prophecy of the future!

, Her cheeks were like wine, Her eyes in her wee face Like water-sparks shine, Her niminy fingers Her sleep tresses preen, The which in the combing She peeps out between; Singing down-adown-derry. Down-adown-derry, Shrill, shrill was her tune: "Come to my water-house, Annie Maroon: Come in your dimity, Ribbon on head, To wear siller seaweed And coral instead"; Singing down-adown-derry.

I will look about and find some seclusion that thou mayest look and sate thine eyes upon Royalty; and thou wilt gaze and gaze and make mental annotations, and to-morrow thou wilt begin to preen thy feathers preparatory to flying forth; but first thou must lie down and sleep three full hours, 'tis then the ball will be at its height, and thou wilt feel refreshed and ready to amuse me with thy observations.

The birds twittered ceaselessly, and some young thing preening upon a light blossomy twig scattered down, anon, perfume upon some shy young fawn, and he leapt away frightened by so dainty a bath and plunged knee-deep in crystal pools and sent the stately swans skimming hurriedly to a quiet and sheltered cove.