OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



of fear that we had to move the trunks into another 

 apartment. 



But what kind of a bird was this wonder, this sensitive 

 being, this petted darling of the household? In utter 

 ignorance the first day or two I had visions of wild 

 canaries, orioles, or even thrushes, but in this respect 

 I was doomed to disappointment. A week after Nan 

 came to us another more developed fledgling fell in 

 exactly the same spot on the brick terrace. Our sus- 

 picions grew stronger. Making a more vigilant search 

 we extracted at last from under the eaves a familiar- 

 looking mass of hay and feathers; it was the nest, still 

 full, alas ! of English sparrows. Three days after Nan's 

 arrival I had noticed at my window the most beauti- 

 fully marked English sparrow and on the fourteenth 

 day a female bird also visited the screen. An imagina- 

 tive person could make quite a tale from these hap- 

 penings. It really looked as if the birds were 

 examining the surroundings of their lost child and 

 asking of her condition. They well might reason: 

 "Here are some incomprehensible beings who shoot 



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