das, chimneys and all, and placed them 

 on the fences around our garden. The 

 first season two pairs of wrens selected 

 and occupied two of them; a third was 

 chosen by a pair of bluebirds, and the 

 fourth left vacant. Wrens, as you all 

 know, are never much afraid of anyone, 

 but bluebirds are inclined to be shy. 

 After a short time, however, the pair I 

 spoke of would alight within a few feet 

 of where I was weeding vegetables, and 

 soon came to know that where the 

 ground was freshly turned, there were 

 to be found the most worms. Before 

 the summer was over the wrens 

 and bluebirds and I were the firm 

 est of friends. Daily they ran and 

 hopped and peeped under the plants 

 and flowers. And besides giving me 

 their companionship they did a vast 

 amount of good in the garden by keep 

 ing it clear of bugs and worms. It was 

 astonishing the number of these they 

 carried to their little ones. 



But time stops not, and finally there 

 came cold and frosty nights that warned 

 my little friends, now comprising three 

 families, that the day of their departure 

 for warmer lands was drawing near; and 

 soon I was all alone. 



Every year since then has been a rep 

 etition of this first, only that I have 

 more houses around now and conse 

 quently more tenants. I firmly believe 

 too, that the first three couples still re 

 turn to their old homes, for the same 

 houses are taken by the wrens every 

 spring and the same one by the blue 

 birds. 



During the winter also, I sometimes 

 have a few bird pets, though they are 

 others than snow birds. The latter I 

 have never been able to make friends 

 with. When the weather is severe I 

 often try to feed them, but with poor 

 success, as they are always very wild. 

 The pets I have reference to are blue 

 jays and campbirds, or as they are more 

 usually called, camp-robbers. Both 

 species stay here the year around. 



Last winter I had a laughable time 

 with them. Shortly after the first snow 

 I noticed a pair of camp-robbers they 

 seem to go in pairs both summer and 

 winter around our meat house. If you 

 have never seen them you cannot know 

 what comical birds they are, so solemn 



and innocent appearing, yet when it 

 comes to stealing well, they are the 

 greatest and boldest thieves you can 

 find. If they are about and you chance 

 to have anything eatable around and 

 turn your back for a moment you are 

 pretty sure to find it gone when you 

 look again. I remember while camp 

 ing one fall, of seeing one of them dart 

 down from a tree and take a slice of 

 meat right out of the frying-pan on the 

 fire! But it was too hot to hold long, 

 and Mr. Camp-robber was obliged to 

 relinquish his dainty dinner before 

 reaching his perch again. Arriving 

 there he sat for a long while, looking 

 down at me with a wry face. 



But I am digressing, and must get 

 back to my story of the camp-robbers 

 and the meat-house. 



A few days after I first saw them, I 

 went in the house to cut some meat for 

 dinner; while there one of the rob 

 bers alighted on a bench placed at the 

 side of the door, and stood peeping in. 

 I cut a small piece of meat and tossed it 

 on the step and in a second he had 

 pounced on it and was away. Every 

 day,, from that time on, just at noon, 

 the pair of them would be watching for 

 me, and I made it a rule to put some 

 small pieces of meat or bread on the 

 steps at that hour of the day. As soon 

 as I retreated a little way they would 

 secure them and fly off. 



After they had been with me about a 

 month, a bluejay happened along one 

 day, and seeing them at their meal, in 

 vited himself to partake of part of it. 

 The camp-robbers seemed somewhat 

 angry at this, but did not venture to 

 remonstrate. The next day there were 

 two bluejays and by the end of a week 

 I had two camp-robbers and seven blue- 

 jays looking to me for their daily din 

 ners. 



I fed the whole company all winter 

 and when spring came the camp-rob 

 bers would almost take food from my 

 hands; in fact they seemed to look to 

 me for protection, when eating, from 

 the bluejays, who were rather overbear 

 ing and wanted more than their share. 



Whether they will visit me this win 

 ter I know not, but I do know that I 

 should be glad to see them again. 



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