STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 219 



not, on finding that I could not get rid of him, 

 be justified in nailing him in?" 



That ardent admirer of nature, Mrs. Child, 

 tells a pretty anecdote about a family of swal- 

 lows which she was acquainted with. "Two 

 barn swallows," she says, "came into our wood- 

 shed in the spring-time. Their busy, earnest 

 twitterings, led me at once to suspect they 

 were looking out a building spot ; but as a 

 carpenter's bench Avas under the window, and 

 very frequently hammering, sawing, and pla- 

 ning were going on, I had little hope that they 

 would choose a location under our roof. To 

 my surprise, however, they soon began to build 

 in the crotch of a beam over the open door- 

 way. I Avas delighted, and spent more time 

 watching than ' penny- wise' people Avould have 

 approved. It was, in fact, a beautiful little 

 drama of domestic love. The mother bird was 

 so busy, and so important ; and her mate was 

 so attentive ! Never did any newly married 

 couple take more satisfaction with their first 

 nicely arranged drawer of baby clothes, than 

 they did in fashioning their little woven cradle. 



" The father bird scarcely ever left the side 

 of the nest There he was all day long, twit- 

 tering in tones that were most obviously the 

 outpourings of love. Sometimes he would 



