MR. CHUPES AND MISS JENNY 



ought to have earned for him the right to 

 wash his face; yet I always made it a mat- 

 ter of principle to discourage the perform- 

 ance. But my tactics were a mere formal- 

 ity, for the persistent little worker never 

 failed to dislodge the obstacle, even when 

 it was wet and consequently really heavy; 

 and it was only after I had discovered what 

 terrors a piece of bark had for the birds, as 

 I explain later on, that I secured immunity 

 from this amusing persecution. 



The days of Chupes' infancy passed hap- 

 pily on, bringing great changes in his ap- 

 pearance and abilities. After a time his 

 poor claw healed, and he was able to play 

 about my room and even to roam around 

 out-of-doors a little. Naturally, on such 

 occasions, he was always accompanied by 

 one of his faithful friends. 



Of course the baby down dropped off 

 after a time, and good-sized feathers, as 

 44 



