THE NEW TENANTS, 



BY ELANORA KINSLEY MARBLE. 



" Father and mother are building a nest ; 

 They have found in Greenwood the place that is best. 

 They are working so hard through the long summer day, 

 Gathering grasses and hair and hay. 



They are so happy, for soon they will hear 

 The eager ' ' Peep, peep ! " of their babies so dear. 

 Dear mother, gather them safe 'neath each wing ; 

 Kind father, hasten, for food you must bring. 



Now mother and father will teach them to fly: 

 " Come, timid birdies ; come, try ; come, try. 

 Fly out in the Greenwood, dear birdies, with me ; 

 Then back to the nest in the dear old tree." 



Mrs. Wren was busy that morning. 

 She had been away all winter, among 

 the trees in the south, but was back 

 in the old neighborhood now, getting 

 her house in order for the summer 

 season. 



Mr. Wren, with a number of other 

 gentlemen Wrens, had arrived some 

 weeks before and had been kept pretty 

 busy looking about for a desirable 

 apartment in which to set up house- 

 keeping. Several had struck him as 

 being just the thing, among them a 

 gourd which one thoughtful family 

 had set for a Chickadee. " I'll fetch 

 some sticks and straws and put a few 

 in each house," said he, with the 

 greediness of his kind, " so the other 

 birds will think it is rented. Mrs. 

 Wren is so particular maybe none 

 of them will suit her. She always 

 wants something better than Mrs. John 

 Wren, her cousin, and I notice Mr. 

 John looking about in this neighbor- 

 hood, too." 



In the low bushes and shrubbery 

 Mr. Wren flitted from day to day, 



keeping his eye on one apartment, 

 especially, which he considered par- 

 ticularly fine. 



" I do wish she would hurry up," he 

 thought, anxious for Mrs. Wren to 

 arrive. " It takes a female so long to 

 get ready to go anywhere. I saw an 

 impudent Blue Jay around here this 

 morning and he may take a fancy to 

 that apartment up there. I wouldn't 

 like to tackle him, and so, to let him 

 see that it is rented, I'll fetch a few 

 more straws," and off Mr. Wren flew, 

 returning in a very little while with 

 his bill full. 



Well, about the first of April Mrs. 

 Wren arrived, quite tired with her 

 journey, but as sprightly and talkative 

 as ever. Mr. Wren greeted her with 

 one of his loudest songs, and they flew 

 about chattering and singing for quite 

 a while. 



" I suppose," said she, resting at 

 length on the limb of a maple tree, 

 " that you have been flying about, eat- 

 ing and drinking and talking with the 

 other Mr. Wrens, and not looking for 



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