The Swallow and the Sparrow 



out; so did the mother, after the little ones 

 were beginning to grow up. Then, at early 

 dawn, both were at the windows, in a mighty 

 state of distress outside the glass barrier. 

 With eyes still heavy with sleep, I had to get 

 up hurriedly and let the poor things in. No, 

 I shall not allow myself to be persuaded 

 again; never more shall I permit the Swal- 

 low to settle in a room that has to be closed 

 at night and still less in the room where I am 

 describing the misadventures that befel me 

 owing to my too-accommodating kindness. 



As you see, the Swallow with the nest 

 shaped like a half-cup well deserves his 

 epithet of domestic, inasmuch as he makes 

 his home inside our houses. In this respect, 

 he is among birds what the Pelopaeus is 

 among insects. Here we have once again 

 the question of the Sparrow and the Wall- 

 swallow: where did he live before houses ex- 

 isted? Personally, I have never seen him 

 build his nest elsewhere than in the shelter 

 of our habitations; and the authors whom 

 I consult do not appear to be any wiser on 

 this subject. None of them says a word 

 of the manor occupied by the bird apart 

 from the refuges provided by human in- 

 dustry. Can it be that his long frequenta- 

 tion of our society and the consequent sense 

 147 



