A Kindergarten Experiment 247 



lem. They were, of course, new to the world, and 

 lacking in experience, such as the owl unquestionably 

 possessed ; and, what I did not realize before, but 

 soon learned, they were without a mother. All poul- 

 try men know that little chickens must be 'brooded'; 

 but then, you see, I was an amateur. The minute 

 I took them from their box of cotton they began to 

 peep pitifully. I fed them on the yolk of an egg 

 which the incubator man had given me, and they ate 

 greedily. But the moment I offered to leave them 

 they followed me like little dogs, peeping with all 

 the earnestness of homeless wanderers. I tried to 

 throw them off their guard and escape from them ; 

 but it was impossible. What was I to do ? Cer- 

 tainly I could not take them to bed with me, and 

 the hour was late. At last I put them in a large 

 pasteboard box in which I cut holes to admit air. I 

 heard them peeping away, fainter and fainter, until 

 they had apparently gone to sleep ; and then I fol- 

 lowed their example. 



In the morning I found the little fellows in very 

 good condition, and with vigorous appetites. It was 

 amusing to watch the fluffy little balls of down, pick- 



