THE HOUSE WREN 49 



with a pebble. There he lay like a bit of sky 

 fallen upon the grass. The widowed bird seemed 

 to understand what had happened, and without 

 much ado disappeared next day in quest of an- 

 other mate. 



In the mean time the wrens were beside them- 

 selves with delight; they fairly screamed with joy. 

 If the male was before " ruffled with whirlwind 

 of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being 

 rent asunder. He inflated his throat and caroled 

 as wren never caroled before. And the female, 

 too, how she cackled and darted about ! How 

 busy they both were ! Rushing into the nest, 

 they hustled those eggs out in less than a min- 

 ute, wren time. They carried in new material, 

 and by the third day were fairly installed again 

 in their old quarters ; but on the third day, so 

 rapidly are these little dramas played, the female 

 bluebird reappeared with another mate. Ah ! how 

 the wren stock went down then ! What dismay 

 and despair filled again those little breasts ! It 

 was pitiful. They did not scold as before, but 

 after a day or two withdrew from the garden, 

 dumb with grief, and gave up the struggle. 



The chatter of a second brood of nearly fledged 

 wrens is heard now (August 20) in an oriole's 

 nest suspended from the branch of an apple-tree 



