STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 89 



pretty dearly for it. They were sure to en- 

 counter cold weather, and frequently severe 

 snow-storms. I have almost cried, many a 

 time, when I have thought of what the little 

 creatures must suffer at such times. 



The favorite spot for the nest of the blue 

 bird is a hole in some old tree. An apple tree 

 suits him very well ; and he is more generally 

 found in an apple orchard, than anywhere else. 

 It is to be presumed that these birds do not 

 themselves bore the holes in ^ the tree where 

 they build their nest. I am inclined to think, 

 that those with whom I was acquainted, when 

 I was a little boy, appropriated the holes 

 formerly made by the woodpecker. After the 

 nest is built, the owners are sometimes obliged 

 to abandon it to other birds. The little rest- 

 less, fidgety, twittering wren, for instance, 

 loves just such a place as the blue bird does; 

 and I have known the sly fellow come along 

 just as the blue bird family had got settled, 

 and, watching an opportunity when the blue 

 birds were away — perhaps calling on some 

 neighbors — enter the hole, pull the nest all to 

 pieces, and carry off the timber to build his 

 own nest. The provoking fellow ! I have 

 had a good mind to stone him, more than once, 

 while this mischief was going on. The wren 



8* 



