242 CONTENTED AND HAPPY. 



But still things were not quite to his mind, 

 and he showed it by constantly going into the 

 cage of the orioles and settling himself evidently 

 with the desire of taking up his residence there. 

 He was so gentle and unobtrusive everywhere, 

 that no one resented his presence in the cage, 

 and he could have lived in peace with almost 

 any bird. But I wanted him contented at 

 home, and moreover, I was curious to find out 

 what was amiss, so I tried the experiment of re- 

 moving his cage from its position next to the 

 lively orioles, and hanging it alone between two 

 windows, where, although not so light, it had 

 the advantage of solitude. The change com- 

 pleted the happiness of the grosbeak. From 

 that day he no more intruded upon others, but 

 went and came freely and joyously to his own 

 cage, and from being hard to catch at night he 

 became one of the most easy, proceeding the 

 moment he entered his home toward dark to the 

 upper perch to wait for me to close the door be- 

 fore going to his seed-dish. In fact, he grew so 

 contented that he cared little to come out, and 

 often sat in his favorite corner of the cage by 

 the hour, with the door wide open and the 

 other birds flying around. Now, too, he began 

 to sing in a sweet voice a very low and tender 

 minor strain. 



Among his other peculiarities this bird 



