views life from a more serious stand- 

 point, her domestic duties, it would 

 seem, weighing heavily upon her mind. 

 We speak of the "thieving" instinct of 

 this bird, as well as of the blue jay, and 

 other kindred species, because of that 

 mischievous spirit which leads them to 

 seize any small bright article which 

 comes in their way, and, when unob- 

 served, to secrete it. That they never 

 purloin or hide these objects when ob- 

 served is thought to be proof conclu- 

 sive that it is done from the pure love 

 of stealing and nothing else. 



"I hide and you seek." In that child- 

 ish game does not the one who is to 

 secrete the article insist that the 

 "finder" close his eyes till the object 

 sought is carefully hidden? What 

 amusement would be afforded the jay, 

 or the mockingbird, should he attempt 

 to secrete an article while you are look 

 ing? If we could only interpret the 

 sparkle in their bead-like eyes, as we 

 can that in a child's when engaged in 

 the same game, how much mischief we 

 would read there as the owner of these 

 secreted articles hunts "high and low" 

 for them in presence of the fun-loving 

 birds! 



"Where did you hide it. Jay?" 

 pleaded a lady, who had left her silver 

 thimble upon a table, and after a few 

 minutes' absence returned to find it 

 gone. "There has been nobody in the 

 room since I left, so you must have 

 taken it." 



Mr. Jay, the pet of the household, 

 hopped into his cage, and, standing 

 upon his perch, looked demurely at 

 the questioner. 



"You are a naughty bird," said his 

 mistress, who had in remembrance 

 finger- rings, watch-keys, collar-buttons, 

 and similar articles, which, from time 

 to time, had as mysteriously disap- 

 peared, "and I am going to shut you 

 in," which she did, fastening the in- 

 secure door of his prison with a stout 

 piece of string. 



Jay gave a shrill shriek, as of laugh- 

 ter, when his mistress continued the 

 search, turning up the edge of the car- 

 pet, searching the pockets of garments 

 hanging on the wall, anywhere, every- 

 where, that articles, one time missing, 

 had been secreted. But look where 



she would the thimble could not be 

 found. 



A month went by, and still Jay re- 

 mained an unwilling, if not a subdued, 

 prisoner. As his mistress one morning 

 sat sewing in the room. Jay gave a final 

 peck at the string which confined him, 

 and at once, without a word, hopped 

 to a chair from which one rung was 

 missing. His mistress was watching 

 him, and to her intense amusement saw 

 him very deftly extract from the hole 

 in the leg her lost thimble. 



In the same household came, as 

 visitor, a little boy named Johnny, of a 

 very peevish and fretful disposition. 

 When refused anything he especially 

 desired, the whole house was made to 

 resound with shrieks of: "Ma, ma, 

 ma-a-a-a!" 



Jay listened very attentively at first, 

 but in a few days had not only caught 

 the words but the very intonation, 

 Johnny never entered the room with- 

 out the bird crying in a peevish tone, 

 in a very ecstacy of mischief: "Ma, 

 ma, ma-a-a!" 



"I hate that bird," said the boy one 

 day, when Jay had greeted him with 

 an unusually whining cry: "He ought 

 to be killed. He makes me nervous." 



"Then I would stop whining if I were 

 you," suggested his mother, and Johnny 

 wisely concluded he would. 



A mockingbird which frequented the 

 grounds of a gentleman in Virginia 

 was noted not only as a most mis- 

 chievous fellow, but as one of the most 

 divine songsters of his tribe. So 

 heavenly was his music, and so superior 

 to that of his fellows, that at eventide 

 in the general chorus his voice soared 

 above all the rest. Men, women, and 

 children gathered — for his fame had 

 traveled far and near — to hear him 

 sing, but in the very midst of his divine 

 strains, Jip — for so they named him — 

 would suddenly cease, and flying away, 

 conceal himself behind a chimney on 

 the housetop. Presently he wou!d 

 sneak down to the eaves and peer cau- 

 tiously over, to see if his self-invited 

 audience had scattered. If they were 

 still there he would again hide himself, 

 returning shortly to peer over the 

 eaves again. As soon as the back of 

 his last auditor was visible down he 



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