10 



when I came to catch him again, so that the urchin must 

 have been favored with more good luck than he was a- 

 ware of. 



I took the bird to the house and presented him to my 

 mother, expecting of course that, having entered a, taxi- 

 dermists studio, he would go the way of all good birds in 

 a day or so; but he was doomed to different treatment, for 

 ho soon became the family pet. They straightway dub- 

 bed him Dick, and proceeded to cage him, which treatment 

 lie most urgently resisted, dashing himself against the 

 bars, until .they finally gave him the liberty of a small, un- 

 CM'-peted bed room, where he took refuge under* the bed. 



In the course of a day or so he would readily respond 

 to his mime and come even to the farthest corner of the 

 Louse, always running with a swift, pattering movement 

 of the feet, regular as clock work, the body never seem- 

 ing to make the slightest movement save as carried straight 

 forward by the legs. On the least suspicion of danger he 

 would scoot back under the bud so quickly that one would 

 hardly realize that he had started. 



His principal food was earth worms and of these he 

 would eat an ordinary handful at one time, taking them 

 from between the fingers; until, in fact his crop bulged out 

 and the writhing and squirming of the worms could be 

 plainly seen. He would apparently never over eat, but 

 was ready for another meal in the course of half an hour. 



