STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 247 



and ran off with it. Was not tliis a case of 

 something more than mere bhnd instinct? I 

 think it was. The bird could not have secured 

 the safety of several young ones in this man- 

 ner. But she had wit enough to perceive that 

 with a single one the case was very different. 

 She saw that there was here really no neces- 

 sity for resorting to the common expedient of 

 hiding her young, and of running the risk of 

 their being found. So she seized it, and ran 

 off with it. 



A partridge was introduced into a family 

 where he was treated very kindly, and where 

 he soon became quite tame. In the same 

 family, there was a spaniel dog. The two, 

 singularly enough, formed a very strong friend- 

 ship for each other. When the hour of dinner 

 arrived, the partridge invariably flew on his 

 mistress' shoulder, calling with that shrill note 

 which is so well known to sportsmen ; and the 

 spaniel leaped with equal ardor. One dish of 

 bread and milk was placed on the floor, out of 

 which the spaniel and the bird fed together ; 

 and after their social meal, the dog would re- 

 turn to a corner to sleep while the partridge 

 would nestle near him, and never stir till his 

 favorite awoke. Whenever the dog accom- 

 panied his mistress out, the bird displayed the 



