83 
We soon began to hear the little ones every time the mother 
bird entered. 
Saturday, June Ist, was a cold, rainy day. The old birds 
were rarely seen and the little ones could not be heard. I rapped 
on the post which supported the nest. No response. I feared 
they had perished. ‘To satisfy myself, I got a step-ladder, re- 
moved the top of the box and looked in. There were five plump, 
fat fellows, snug and warm, and all feathered out except their 
tails. 
Last Sunday, June oth, as soon as | returned from church, 
I went out to see my pets; and as the mother bird left the nest, 
one of the little fellows hopped up to the edge of the opening and 
looked out. I knew at once that the day of departure was near, 
so I returned to the house so as not to hasten their exit. 
I did not go out again till six o’clock when I saw one in a 
cherry tree, and two perched in the openings of the bird house, 
one on each side. I returned to the house and went to an attic 
window overlooking the garden, where they could not see me. I 
saw one little fellow fly from the nest to the top of a tree at least 
ten feet higher than the point from which he started. So his first 
flight was upward. ‘They were soon all out, flying from tree to 
tree, picking among the leaves or holding their mouths open to be 
fed. By seven o’clock they were all away, just forty-four days 
from the time the old birds made their first visit. 
On Monday morning I saw one of the little ones receiving 
breakfast from its mother in a nearby tree. I have not seen them 
since. J really miss them for I enjoyed their interesting ways. 
The sparrows paid no apparent attention to the bird house 
during the period of nesting. It was too deep for them. 
On the afternoon when the little blue birds were coming out, 
about a dozen sparrows and two robins came over to see what 
was going on. These the parent blue birds immediately attacked 
and drove away. 
Had I fed and handled these little birds while they were 
helpless in the nest, it would have tamed them and induced them 
to remain near me all summer, but I reasoned that such treatment 
would weaken them, and that they would be stronger in the 
struggle for existence if I kept myself out of their life. 
