BIRD AND ARBOUR DAY AT FOXES CORNERS 391 
thing. We are happy when we are free; and so are the 
birds. 
The birds and I get acquainted all over again every 
spring. They have seen strange lands in the winter, and 
all the brooks and woods have been covered with snow. 
So we run and romp together, and find all the nooks and 
crannies which we had half forgotten since October. The 
birds remember the old places. The Wrens pull the sticks 
from the old hollow rail and seem to be wild with joy to 
see the place again. They must be the same Wrens that 
were here last year and the year before, for strangers 
could not make so much fuss over an old rail. The Blue- 
birds and Wrens look into every crack and corner for a 
place in which to build, and the Robins and Chipping- 
sparrows explore every tree in the old orchard. 
If the birds want to live with us, we should encourage 
them. The first thing to do is to let them alone. Let 
them be as free from danger and fear as you or I. Take 
the hammer off the old gun, give pussy so much to eat 
that she will not care to hunt for birds, and keep away the 
boys who steal eggs and who carry sling-shots and throw 
stones. Plant trees and bushes about the borders of the 
place, and let some of them, at least, grow into tangles; 
then, even in the back yard, the wary Catbird may make 
its home. 
For some kinds of birds we can build houses. You 
have been doing this all through the winter, I hear. 
Some of the many forms which can be used are shown in 
the pictures, but any ingenious boy can suggest a dozen 
other patterns. Although birds may not appreciate 
architecture, it is well to make the houses neat and tasty 
