THE GOLDFINCH. 187 



and neatness which it usually displays. This abode was 

 completed in the space of three days, and remained un- 

 occupied for the space of four days : the first egg was 

 not laid till the seventh day from beginning the work. 



The goldfinch sometimes builds in hedges ; but most 

 commonly in trees, especially those which are ever- 

 green. The native song is not inelegant, but it is sel- 

 dom pure in confinement. This bird is fond of plain- 

 tain, chickweed, and hempseed, and the seeds of the 

 thistle and teazel. 



In a very comfortable cottage, not a hundred miles 

 from Derby, lived an old man and his daughter, and 

 from year to year they were robbed of the cherries that 

 grew on a very fine tree, by bullfinches, sparrows, chaf- 

 finches, and other voracious birds, which came hither 

 for many a delicious repast. Various means were tried 

 to deter these invaders, but all of them failed ; and, at 

 length, an old woman was made of straw, and duly at- 

 tired in gown, apron, bonnet, and shawl — or it may have 

 been a red cloak, but this is not material to the story — 

 and she was seated snugly in the middle of the cherry- 

 tree, to keep guard, early in the year. 



The buds, the leaves, the blossoms, and the fruit, all 

 came, as usual, in their turn, but it was only for the 

 cherries to be devoured as formerly by the birds, who 



