THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 255 



it from the bifurcation of two branches of a tree. For this 

 purpose it chooses those which lie horizontally, and always 

 stitches its airy abode by means of a round stitch, done not 

 with grass, but with a piece of string or a thread-end, which 

 it has stolen from some neighboring factory or dwelling, so 

 that one might feel inclined to ask what it did before pack- 

 thread and spinning were invented. 



CHAPTER IY. 



IDLERS AND ASSASSINS. 



IT would seem that in the bird activity and intelligence 

 are in inverse proportion to size. The idlers and freebooters 

 of the air generally belong to the most robust tribes. 



The wren lovingly hatches its charming little family be- 

 neath a dome of moss and down, constructed with deli- 

 cacy and ingenuity, and often sheltered by the eaves of 

 our roofs ; a perfect mattressed sphere, which the mother 

 scarcely dares to quit, so much does she love her brood. 



The ostrich, a living emblem of force united to indolence, 

 does not give itself the trouble to construct a nest at all. 

 After having simply scattered the sand by means of its feet, 

 it deposits its eggs upon the place, and commits their incu- 

 bation to the burning sun of the desert. It only sits upon 

 them in cold and damp nights ; and, as if even this maternal 

 effort were too great a strain upon her tenderness, several 

 mothers are seen dividing among them the cares of a doubt- 

 ful parentage, for it seems certain that several ostriches lay 



