The Adventures of Tommy Titmouse 
not because they were hungry, but out of 
mischief, without thinking of what they 
were doing. They often threw stones at 
him, but luckily didn’t hit him, because 
alittle blue-tit, dodging about in a hedge, 
is not an easy thing to hit with a stone; 
but catapults were no joke. One of his 
brothers, he knew, had had a wing broken 
with one. And traps were worse still. 
Once, seeing a piece of bread lying on 
the ground, he flew down to give it a 
peck ; but as it happened a sparrow was 
nearer, and got there first, and tried to 
pick the bread up and fly off with it 
before Tommy could get to him; when 
all of a sudden there was a spring and a 
click, and the sparrow was caught fast 
by the leg in a horrid trap with sharp 
teeth, and Tommy flew away in a fright, 
thinking he had had a very narrow 
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