Old Clothes and Old Houses 



Jenny Wren was as good as her word. While 

 she flitted and hopped about this way and that 

 way in that fussy way of hers, getting her break- 

 fast, she talked. Jenny couldn't keep her tongue 

 still if she wanted to. 



"Did you find any old clothes of the Snake 

 family?" she demanded. Then as Peter shook 

 his head her tongue ran on without waiting for 

 him to reply. "Cresty and his wife always insist 

 upon having a piece of Snake skin in their nest," 

 said she. "Why they want it, goodness knows! 

 But they do want it and never can seem to settle 

 down to housekeeping unless they have it. Per- 

 haps they think it will scare robbers away. As 

 for me, I should have a cold chill every time I 

 got into my nest if I had to sit on anything like 

 that. I have to admit that Cresty and his wife 

 are a handsome couple, and they certainly have 

 good sense in choosing a house, more sense than 

 any other member of their family to my way of 

 thinking. But Snake skins ! Ugh !" 



"By the way, where does Cresty build?" asked 

 Peter. 



"In a hole in a tree, like the rest of us sensible 

 people," retorted Jenny Wren promptly. 



Peter looked quite as surprised as he felt. 

 "Does Cresty make the hole?" he asked. 



"Goodness gracious, no!" exclaimed Jenny 

 [57] 



