74 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



sweet notes of the shy and timid oriole ; but the tiny 

 and graceful sunbirds were very demonstrative : some of 

 them hovered round him in the air, others flitted about 

 from bush to bush in great glee, chirping incessantly all 

 the while. The koels and the crows were out foraging 

 in another part of the wood, and were not apprised of 

 Janardan's arrival, until the solitary magpie had made the 

 ^rove echo and re-echo with its loud and clear metallic 

 whistling note, so different from the ordinary harsh cry of 

 the species. Janardan was a perfect adept in imitating the 

 songs and call notes of birds, and talked to his pets in 

 their own language, and signified his pleasure at seeing 

 them happy and joyous. He was very happy too, if one 

 who knew no unhappiness could be called happy, and stood 

 contemplating the birds till night set in, and spread its 

 dark mantle over the earth, the wood, and the sky, and 

 hushed the birds into silence. But still Janardan moved 

 not. His thoughts had wandered from the birds to 

 their great Creator and he was lost in praise and thanks- 

 giving for all His dispensations. 



I once asked Janardan why he never caged his pets 

 like other bird-fanciers ? His answer was characteristic. 

 " Know you not," he said, " that the birds are formed 

 for a life of freedom." Caged or not, it would have 

 gladdened the heart of any man to see the confidence 

 with which his birds approached and moved round him. 

 The secret of this lay in his sweet lovable nature and 

 his great sympathy which embraced all God's creatures. 



To resume the story of the parrots. As we have 



