CHAPTER V 

 NATURE'S FIRST LAW 



GREAT was the astonishment of a lady seated 

 beside an open window sewing one May morning 

 to have a Baltimore oriole fly from its half-built 

 nest in the elm tree on the lawn to her window, 

 alight on the sill, timidly advance toward her work- 

 basket on the window-seat, and, while she sat 

 motionless, breathless, to see it tug at the end of 

 some darning cotton and then dart through the 

 window with the cutting trailing from its bill. It 

 did not take the delighted hostess long to prepare 

 more tempting invitations for her guest to return. 

 Breaking off short lengths of worsteds, some bright 

 coloured, some brownish gray natural wool, she 

 spread them about on the casement. Presently the 

 bird flew by the house again, caught sight of the 

 worsteds, wheeled suddenly about, alighted on the 

 shutter, hopped to the worsteds, selected a gray 

 strand and flew off. Again the oriole returned ; 

 again she chose the natural wool. On the sixth 

 trip her feminine taste was apparently sorely tempted 

 by a bit of pink yarn, for she touched it twice with 

 her bill before deliberately carrying away the last 

 grayish piece. Every bright-colored strand was re- 

 jected. This set the lady thinking. 



Of all our common birds, the oriole is perhaps 

 the most aesthetic. That she is far in advance of 

 most of her kind is shown by her marvellous skill 



93 



