m HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



every bird on her father's land. Ever since I 

 could remember I had loved, to the best of my 

 ability, protected, and doctored the birds, but I 

 never before had realized that they were quite so 

 wonderful. From that hour in which they became 

 my persona] property every bird of them took on 

 new beauty of colouring, new grace in flight, and 

 previously unnoted sweetness of song. So with 

 the natural acquisitiveness of human nature I began 

 a systematic search to increase my possessions. I 

 climbed every tree in the dooryard and looked 

 over the branches carefully. Not a sweet scented 

 shrub, a honeysuckle, a lilac, a syringa, a rose 

 bush, or a savin escaped my exploring eyes. Then I 

 proceeded to the garden, and one by one I searched 

 the currant, gooseberry, blackberry, and raspberry 

 bushes, the grape arbour, the vines clambering over 

 the fence, and the trees and shrubs of its corners. 

 Then I went over each vine-covered section of the 

 fence enclosing the dooryard, hunting for nests set 

 flal on the crosspieces. I almost tore the hair from 

 my head, while I did tear my apron to pieces and 

 scratched i ny face, hands, and feet to bleeding in my 

 n i i 1 1 1 1 1 c < i \ pi c >ra tion of the big berry patch cast of the 

 < l< x >ryard, where the Lawton blackberries grew high 

 above my head. Then I extended my search to 

 every corner of the fence enclosing the orchard and 

 took its dozens of trees one ;it ;i lime, climbing 

 those thai I could and standing motionless under 

 those thai I could not, intently watching until 1 am 



