32 



A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



morning he brought food and his mate carried it to 

 the young. But afterwards, when she started to 

 take a morsel from him, behold ! he the gay, friv- 

 olous little beau, 

 the minstrel lover 

 actually acted as 

 if he did n't want 

 to give it up, as if 

 he wanted to feed 

 his own little birds 

 himself. With 

 wings trembling at 

 his sides he turned 

 his back on his 

 mate and started 

 to walk down the 

 branch away from 

 her ! But he was 

 too fond of her to 

 even seem to refuse 

 her anything, and 

 so, coming back, 

 gave her the mor- 

 sel. She proba- 

 bly divined his 

 thought, and, let 

 us hope, was glad 



A Trying- Moment. 



to have him show an interest in his children at 

 last ; at all events, when he came again with food 

 and clung to the tip of a drooping twig waiting 



