io6 American Birds 



were putting in the first spider-web cross-beams and sup- 

 ports for the roof, and only six feet from the ground, 

 where I could see the whole process. In two days they had 

 all the framework up and started with the furnishings. 

 Each midget would return every few minutes with some- 

 thing new. Down into the bag he would dive, and it 

 would shake and bulge for a moment, and then away he 

 would dart for some more material. It took days to 

 furnish the home. What downy draperies ! What moss- 

 covered walls, lichen-tinted in greens and browns! And 

 most important of all, there was a thick bed of feathers, 

 the resting-place of seven eggs of delicate whiteness. 



You should have seen the way they put me in the same 

 category with small boys, owls, and sparrow hawks. At 

 first they didn't dare go near the nest for fear I'd see it. 

 But, mercy ! a titmouse might make twenty resolutions not 

 to trust you, and the very next minute he'd throw him- 

 self and all his hopes right into your arms. There wasn't 

 a fibre of suspicion in his little body, but his race had suf- 

 fered so long that a good bit of caution had been embedded 

 in his tiny brain. He tried to keep the family secret, but 

 the minute he trusted me he told all he knew. 



I stood almost within reach of the nest. The little 

 lover looked me over from all sides. Then, as a final 

 test, he popped right into the round door. He knew I 

 would make a grab at him, nest and all. He was out in a 

 twinkle. He looked amazed, for I didn't move. That 

 was his test of friendship, and from that time on he gave 

 me his confidence. 



What implicit trust they placed in me ! Why, I don't 

 know. Had they forgotten the thousand wrongs the man- 



