220 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



bring in a straw, or hair, to be interwoven in 

 tlie previous little fabric. One day my atten- 

 tion was arrested by a very unusual twittering, 

 and I saw liim circling round, with a large 

 downy feather in his bill. He bent over the 

 unfinished nest, and offered it to his mate with 

 the most graceful and loving air imaginable: 

 and when she put up her mouth to take it, he 

 poured forth such a gust of gladsome sound! 

 It seems as if pride and affection had swelled 

 his heart till it was almost too big for his little 

 bosom. 



"When the young became old enough to 

 fly, any body would have laughed to watch the 

 manoeuvres of the parents! Such a chirping 

 and twittering! Such diving down from the 

 nest, and flying up again ! Such wheeling 

 round in circles, talking to the young ones all 

 the while ! Such clinging to the sides of the 

 shed with their sharp claws, to show the timid 

 little fledglings that there was no need of fall- 

 ing! For three da3^s all this was carried on 

 with increasing activity. It was obviously an 

 infant flying school. But all their talking and 

 fussing was of no avail. The little things 

 looked down, then looked up, but alarmed at 

 the infinity of space, sunk down into the nest 

 again. At length the parents grew impatient, 



