I HARDENED MY HEART. 185 



I rose next morning to pursue my acquaintance 

 with the little family in the apple-tree, fearful 

 lest they should get the start of me. The young- 

 sters were calling vociferously, and both parents 

 were very busy attending to their wants and 

 trying to stop their mouths, when I planted my 

 seat before their castle in the air, and proceeded 

 to inquire into their manners and customs. My 

 call was, as usual, not received with favor. The 

 mother, after administering the mouthful she 

 had brought, alighted on a twig beside the nest 

 and gave me a " piece of her mind." I admit- 

 ted my bad manners, but I could not tear my- 

 self away. The anxious papa, very gorgeous in 

 his chestnut and black suit, scenting danger 

 to the little brood in the presence of the bird- 

 student with her glass, at once abandoned the 

 business of feeding, and devoted himself to the 

 protection of his family, which indeed was 

 his plain duty. His way of doing this was to 

 take his position on the tallest tree in the vicin- 

 ity, and fill the serene morning air with his cry 

 of distress, a two-note utterance, with a pathetic 

 inflection which could not fail to arouse the 

 sympathy of all who heard it. It was not ex- 

 cited or angry, but it proclaimed that here was 

 distress and danger, and it had the effect of 

 making me ashamed of annoying him. But I 

 hardened my heart, as I often have to do in my 



