BIRDS' NESTS, 75 



and uncomfortable. But Mr. Miller reminded 

 him of the way in which ducks dip their heads 

 and necks under water, and let the round 

 drops run down their backs like quicksilver. 

 " While birds are alive," he said, " they can 

 bear being exposed to a great deal of rain 

 without getting very wet ; and besides this, 

 they are so thoroughly thatched with feathers, 

 that even if the outer ones got wet, the soft 

 down beneath kept them warm and dry. But 

 even if the rain wetted them, we ought not to 

 take it for granted that they are then as un- 

 comfortable as we should be if we were to sit 

 still in wet clothes for a whole day. We ought 

 not to doubt that the Great Creator of the 

 world has given to all animals the power of 

 enjoying the kind of life which their instinct 

 teaches them to lead. I can quite believe that 

 a wren, sitting motionless in its dark hole of 

 a nest, is all the while enjoying life, the gift 

 of God, as much as the lark, lifted up and 

 praising God in the firmament." 



