A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



town, I heard his familiar call by the road- 

 side. He came hurriedly through the bushes 

 and fluttered to my feet. He appeared over- 

 joyed to see me, and greedily ate the cracker- 

 crumbs I gave him. When he flew away, I 

 followed him. He led me a long distance to 

 a field, where I found Mrs. Wabbles sitting 

 on four dainty, speckled eggs. The nest was 

 in the open field, beneath a tuft of grass. 



Three baby sparrows were reared from this 

 nest. When they were big enough to fly, 

 I expected that Wabbles would move his whole 

 family to the woods, provided Mrs. Wabbles 

 would consent, which I much doubted. Sure 

 enough, early in autumn Wabbles returned, 

 but he was alone. I fancied that he had de- 

 serted his family for my companionship and 

 a life in the woods. But not so. His visit 

 was a matter of business. He wanted to know 

 how the supplies of food held out. After he 

 had satisfied himself he flew away, but the next 

 day returned with one of the baby birds. 

 Wabbles fussed over this bird all day long. 

 He called the little one into the dooryard and 

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