84 CITIZEN BIRD 



" By and by, when you know these hundred birds by 

 name and by sight, you wdll be so far along on the road 

 into Birdland that you can choose your own way, and 

 branch off right and left on whatever path seems most 

 attractive to you ; but then you will need big books, 

 and have to learn long hard Latin names." 



" What birds will you begin with, please. Doctor 

 Roy," said Rap, "the singers or the cannibals? " 



" The singers, because they will interest Dodo and 

 Nat the most easily, as they do you. Then we will 

 talk about the birds that only croak and call ; then the 

 cannibal birds ; next those that coo, and those that 

 scratch for a living. Then we must leave dry land 

 and go close to the water to find the birds that wade ; 

 and finally, we must go to the lake or sea itself for the 

 birds that swim and dive." 



"Why, here's Quick ! " cried Nat, as the little fox- 

 terrier came leaping down the lane, tracking them, nose 

 to the ground. "How did you get out of the barn, 

 sir ? " 



" I suspect that Dodo has discovered that Ave are 

 missing and is looking for us," said the Doctor. 

 " There is the breakfast bell. Do you realize, my lads, 

 that we have been out two hours ? " 



" I often come out early in the morning," said Rap, 

 " so it doesn't seem strange to me." 



" I'm starving, Uncle Roy," said Nat, " though I am 

 only beginning to feel it." 



" Think how much worse you would have felt if you 

 had not eaten some bread and milk before you started." 



" Yes, indeed," said Nat, " Do many sicknesses 

 come from not eating enough ? " 



