How I Came to Live in a House 3 



come over me. I knew I should fall to 

 the earth if I tried to fly. I don't know 

 why I felt this, but, do as I would, I 

 could not get rid of the horrible feeling. 

 I tried a number of times to overcome 

 that sickly feeling of fear and dread, but 

 every time I clambered to the nest's 

 edge I grew dizzy and had to fall back 

 to prevent my pitching headlong for- 

 ward. My father and mother both 

 scolded me, and taunted me for my 

 cowardice; they urged me to flap my 

 wings more, and again and again showed 

 me how to do it. But my wings were 

 so weak I am sure something was wrong 

 with one of them. And my feathers! 

 I never saw such wretched feathers. In 

 the first place I had no feathers what- 

 ever on the under part of my body, and 

 where the feathers did grow they were 



