'The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



he didn't understand at all. "I'm ever so pleased 

 to find you living here," said he politely. "You 

 see, in winter the Old Orchard is rather a lonely 

 place. I don't see how you get enough to eat 

 when there are so few birds about. " 



"Birds!" snapped Spooky. "What have birds 

 to do with it?" 



"Why, don't you live on birds?" asked Peter 

 innocently. 



"I should say not. I guess I would starve if I 

 depended on birds for my daily food," retorted 

 Spooky. "I catch a Sparrow now and then, to be 

 sure, but usually it is an English Sparrow, and I 

 consider that I am doing the Old Orchard a good 

 turn every time I am lucky enough to catch one of 

 the family of Bully the English Sparrow. But I 

 live mostly on Mice and Shrews in winter and in 

 summer I eat a lot of grasshoppers and other in- 

 sects. If it wasn't for me and my relatives I guess 

 Mice would soon overrun the Great World . Farmer 

 Brown ought to be glad I've come to live in the 

 Old Orchard and I guess he is, for Farmer Brown's 

 boy knows all about this house of mine and never 

 disturbs me. Now if you'll excuse me I think 

 I'll fly over to Farmer Brown's young orchard. 

 I ought to find a fat Mouse or two trying to get 

 some of the bark from those young trees." 



"Huh!" exclaimed Peter. "They can try all 

 [213] 



