122 FRIENDS WORTH KNOWING. 



tumblers and rope-dancers into numberless positions, to- 

 gether with the peculiar chatter of each, are altogether very 

 amusing, conveying the idea of hungry diligence, bustle, 

 and activity." 



Every one knows the black-capped titmouse our jolly 

 little chickadee, and his jolly little chant : 



" Chick-chickadeedee ! Saucy note, 

 Out of sound heart and merry throat, 

 As if it said : ' Good-day, good sir ! 

 Fine afternoon, old passenger ! 

 Happy to meet you in these places, 

 Where January brings few faces.' " 



He is the hero of the woods; there are courage and good- 

 nature enough in that compact little body, which you may 

 hide in your fist, to supply a whole groveful of May song- 

 sters. He has the Spartan virtue of an eagle, the cheerful- 

 ness of the thrushes, the nimbleness of the sparrow, the 

 endurance of the sea-birds, condensed into his tiny frame, 

 and there have been added a "peartness" and ingenuity all 

 his own. His curiosity is immense, and his audacity equal 

 to it ; I have even had one alight upon the barrel of the 

 gun over my shoulder as I sat quietly under his tree. The 

 chickadees come to us with the first frost; and keen eyes 

 may discover them all the year round in the Catskills, or 



