begin their southward journey. At this 

 time their plumage is mixed with gray 

 and their song is reduced to a single 

 mournful note, in great contrast to the 

 cheerful warble of spring. The winter 

 is spent in the southern United States or 

 even farther south. 



The Bluebird ranges throughout the 



eastern part of the United States from 

 the Atlantic ocean to the eastern base of 

 the Rocky Mountains, and from Mani- 

 toba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia to the 

 Gulf States and Cuba. Curiously enough, 

 it is a permanent resident of Bermuda. 



COLLTNS ThURP.KR. 



JIMMIE. 



It had rained all night, but the sun 

 rose bright and clear that morning, mak- 

 ing a glittering display of diamonds on 

 tree and leaf and every blade of grass. 

 The world was very beautiful as I stood 

 by the gate. 



But what was that little brown bun- 

 dle slowly making its way across the 

 road? Could it be a kitten? Whatever 

 it was it was certainly very nearly 

 drowned, for the poor little thing was 

 wet to the skin. 



I picked it up and found it was too 

 weak to resist very much, although it 

 tried feebly to bite me. It was certainly 

 the strangest looking kitten I ever had 

 seen. But if it was not a kitten what 

 could it be? I carried it into the house 

 to papa. He looked at it, then laughing 

 heartily, exclaimed : "Why, child, you've 

 caught a woodchuck." If I had known 

 what he was before I picked him up I 

 should have been a little timid about 

 touching him, but now that I had the 

 poor, weak, wet little thing in my arms 

 I begged to be allowed to keep him. At 

 first papa laughed at the idea, but I 

 coaxed so hard that he finally consented, 

 and Jimmie, for that was what I named 

 him, soon became a regular inmate of our 

 house. He soon learned to love us and 

 was more interesting than any kitten I 

 ever had had. 



Papa fixed a long narrow box for him. 

 Half of it was to be used for Jimmie's 

 bedroom, wdiich could be shut up by 

 means of a little door, so Jimmie could 

 not get out. This was done because 

 mamma, who was not particularly fond 

 of him, did not relish the idea of a wood- 



chuck running around the house, espe- 

 cially at night. The other half of the 

 box was filled with gravel, for Jimmie 

 dearly loved to burrow in the ground, 

 and I thought this would make it more 

 homelike for him. He was as neat as a 

 kitten and always washed his face very 

 properly after eating. 



In some ways he was much like a 

 child, and oh, how he did hate to get up 

 in the morning. I would find him curled 

 up in his box, looking like a little ball of 

 fur. But he would pay no attention 

 when I spoke to him, and would stand 

 considerable pulling and pinching before 

 he would stir. Finally he would whine 

 and cry, very much like a .baby who does 

 not like to be wakened, and sometimes 

 by the time he was fully aroused would 

 chatter like a little magpie because I had 

 disturbed him. 



He soon learned his name and would 

 follow us about the house just as a kit- 

 ten would do. When he felt playful he 

 would often grab mamma's dress and 

 jerk it, then scamper away and watch 

 her, and as soon as she resumed her 

 work he would try it again. But Jimmie 

 was a little cry-baby, and if we made him 

 stop doing anything which he wished to 

 do he would cry or at least that's what 

 I called it. It certainly was a very cross, 

 fretful little noise that sounded much like 

 a baby crying. When angry he would 

 chatter and scold and sometimes even 

 bite. 



He had a great passion for looking out 

 of the windows and chattering at the 

 people going by. But he usually got into 

 trouble, for, if the window was up, he 



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