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excerpt from the song of the cardinal i
gene stratton-porter
flashing through the tree-tops of the limberlost there are birds whose colour is more brilliant than that of the gaudiest flower
lifting its face to light and air. the lilies of the mire are not so white as the white herons that fish among them. the ripest spray
of goldenrod is not so highly coloured as the burnished gold on the breast of the oriole that rocks on it. the jays are bluer than
the calamus bed they wrangle above with throaty chatter. the finches are a finer purple than the ironwort. for every clump of
foxfire flaming in the limberlost, there is a cardinal glowing redder on a bush above it. these may not be more numerous than
other birds, but their brilliant colouring and the fearless disposition make them seem so.
es
the comparisons in the final paragraph, such as ripest, bluer, and finer, suggest that the author's attitude toward the wildlife
admiring
apathetic.
critical
d)
fearful.