the rattlesnake drew nearer and nearer, and the young blue jay was shaking with fright, when there was a rustle of wings, and his father and mother flew down and around the rattlesnake, screaming loudly to all the other jays, and making the snake turn away from the helpless little bird he had been about to strike. it was a long time before the forest was quiet again, and when it was, the blue jay family were safely in their nest, and the rattlesnake had gone home without his supper.