244 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



came back before dark. This came to be a habit, and 

 after that we did not take her cage in overnight. 



I never knew just when it happened, but one evening 

 I discovered that Dickie was not in the cage. Probably 

 she had been gone for several nights. Mother said she 

 came back several times every day for seeds that were 

 always kept in the cage and for water. Nevertheless she 

 had been spending considerable time in the garden with 

 Peter. 



It was the strangest occurrence I have ever known among 

 the wildlings; but Dickie and Peter fell in love with each 

 other, and finally Dickie ceased to come back to her cage 

 at all. We left the cage in the tree for two or three 

 weeks. But when Dickie did not return it was finally taken 

 into the house to await the needs of the first crippled bird 

 found in the neighborhood. We supposed that Dickie, 

 having been reared in a cage, had lost the instinct of the 

 wildlings and had been unable to cope with the hardships 

 of the gi-eat out-of-doors. 



One day late in August I went to see if the Miner plums 

 were beginning to ripen. Imagine my surprize to have 

 Dickie meet me and alight on my shoulder as friendly as 

 could be. She seemed overjoyed to see me again. Soon 

 I noticed Peter. He was sitting in a plum tree near by 

 and seemed very much concerned over the turn events 

 were taking. He scolded and protested until it dawned on 

 me that Peter had at last found a wife and that his wife 

 was Dickie. Then I understood why she had forsaken 

 her cage. Before long I found their nest. It was not at 

 all like the nests we see in a canary's cage. I have never 

 seen a wild canary's nest, but from its description in the 

 books it must be something like the nest of the goldfinch. 



