The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



know that there is no secret so precious as the 

 secret of a home. You happened to find mine, and 

 I guess I can trust you not to tell anybody where 

 it is. If you can find the homes of Fidget and 

 Weechi, all right, but I certainly don't intend to 

 tell you where they are." 



Peter knew that Sprite was quite right in refusing 

 to tell the secrets of his cousins, but he couldn't 

 think of going home without at least looking for 

 those homes. He tried to look very innocent as 

 he asked if they also were in hanging bunches of 

 moss. But Sprite was too smart to be fooled and 

 Peter learned nothing at all. 



For some time Peter hopped around this way 

 and that way, thinking every bunch of moss he 

 saw must surely contain a nest. But though he 

 looked and looked and looked, not another little 

 round hole did he find, and there were so many 

 bunches of moss that finally his neck ached from 

 tipping his head back so much. Now Peter hasn't 

 as much patience as he might have, so after a 

 while he gave up the search and started on his 

 way home. On higher ground, just above the low 

 swampy place where grew the moss-covered trees, 

 he came to a lot of young hemlock-trees. These 

 had no moss on them. Having given up his 

 search Peter was thinking of other things when 

 there flitted across in front of him a black and 

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