SHARP EYES. 39 



lives of the birds, if our eyes are sharp enough to 

 See them. Some clever observer saw this little eom- 

 edy played among some English sparrows and wrote 

 an account of it in his newspaper ; it is too good 

 not to be true : A male bird brought to his box a 

 large, fine goose feather, which is a great find for a 

 sparrow and much coveted. After he had deposited 

 his prize and chattered his gratulations over it he 

 went away in quest of his mate. His next-door 

 neighbor, a female bird, seeing her chance, quickly 

 slipped in and seized the feather, and here the wit 

 of the bird came out, for instead of carrying it into her 

 own box she flew with it to a near tree and hid it in 

 a fork of the branches, then went home, and when 

 her neighbor returned with his mate was innocently 

 employed about her own affairs. The proud male, 

 finding his feather gone, came out of his box in a 

 high state of excitement, and, with wrath in his man- 

 ner and accusation on his tongue, rushed into the 

 cot of the female. Not finding his goods and chattels 

 there as he had expected, he stormed around a while, 

 abusing everybody in general and his neighbor in 

 particular, and then went away as if to repair the 

 loss. As soon as he was out of sight, the shrewd 

 thief went and brought the feather home and lined 

 her own domicile with it. 



I was much amused one summer day in seeing a 

 bluebird feeding her young one in the shaded street of 

 a large town. She had captured a cicada or harvest-fly, 

 and after bruising it a while on the ground flew with it 



