THE BABIES 1 LADDER. 189 



wilted, and retired before it. How the birds 

 could endure it and carry on their work, I could 

 not understand. 



At noon I ventured out over the burning 

 grass. The first youngster had left the nest, 

 and was shouting from a tree perhaps twenty 

 feet beyond the native apple. The others were 

 fluttering on the edge, crying as usual. As is 

 the customary domestic arrangement with many 

 birds, the moment the first one flew, the father 

 stopped coming to the nest, and devoted himself 

 to the straggler, which was a little hard on the 

 mother that hot day, for she had four to feed. 



While I looked on, the second infant mus- 

 tered up courage to start on the journey of life. 

 A tall twig led from the nest straight up into 

 the air, and this was the ladder he mounted. 

 Step by step he climbed one leaf-stem after 

 another, with several pauses to cry and to eat, 

 and at last reached the topmost point, where he 

 turned his face to the west, and took his first 

 survey of the kingdoms of the earth. A brother 

 nestling was close behind him, and the pretty 

 pair, seeing no more steps above them, rested 

 a while from their labors. In the mean time 

 the first young oriole had gone farther into the 

 trees, and papa with him. 



The little dame worked without ceasing, 

 though it must have been an anxious time, with 



