III. 



THE BABES IN THE WOOD. 



The little home in the wood was well hidden. 

 About its door were no signs of life, no chips 

 from its building, no birds lingering near, no 

 external indication whatever. In silence the 

 tenants came and went ; neither calls, songs, nor 

 indiscreet tapping gave hint of the presence of 

 woodpeckers in the neighborhood, and food was 

 sougiit out of sight and hearing of the carefully 

 secluded spot. No one would have suspected 

 what treasures were concealed within the rough 

 trunk of that old oak but for an accident. 



Madam herself was the culprit. In carrying 

 out an eggshell, broken at one end and of no 

 further use, she dropped it near the foot of the 

 tree. To her this was doubtless a disaster, but 

 to me it was a treasure-trove, for it told her well- 

 kept secret. The hint was taken, the home soon 

 found in the heart of an oak, with entrance 

 twenty feet from the ground, and close watching 

 from a distance revealed the owner, a golden- 

 winged woodpecker. 



The tree selected by the shy young pair for 



