186 OUR NAXn'E SONGSTERS. 



*' Hopping o'er the floor, 

 Eyes all the smiling family askance, 

 And pecks and starts, and wonders where he is." 



Now and tlicii tlie housewife of tlie fcirni-liouse 

 or cottage is annoyed because tlie redbreasts will 

 come into the bedrooms every evening for shelter, 

 but generally the "minstrel of the poor" is a 

 favoured bird. If undisturbed it will often keej) 

 to its winter (quarters till spring comes back aj:ain, 

 never showing the slightest inclination to de])art, 

 but looking down with a half-timid, half-hopeful 

 inquiry, to see if it is welcome to some elevation 

 in the room, on which it has placed itself. In 

 forests when woodmen are emjdoyed, these birds 

 become their constant companions, sharing their 

 meals, and hojtping around their fire for warmth ; 

 and the gardener often finds it dithcult to avoid 

 injuring them by his spade, whieli they aj)proacli 

 so nearly, when he is digging in the earth. Treat 

 the robin kindly, and you may be sure of a song 

 from the garden hedge ; and whistle to it, or sing 

 it a few notes, and it will listen and answer. Not a 

 woodland bird has a sweeter or softer tune, though 

 many sing louder and more varied strains. Its best 

 melody is in spring and summer, when it is far 



