THE STORY OF NAN 



frames. Could we force this tenderly nurtured crea- 

 ture to go out and battle for herself? Not in the 

 winter's cold, at least. 



When the spring sunshine began to warm the earth, 

 it melted the cold heart of Nan the sparrow, and she 

 became more sociable with the birds outside, frequent- 

 ing the window where seed was spread for them, and 

 finally lifting up her eager voice she chirped soft 

 nothings to her kind. Day after day she spent upon 

 the sill, pecking upon the screen and answering the 

 chattering sparrows outside, until about the middle of 

 April we opened the barrier, and in an unforgetable 

 transport of joy our Nan flew away. Not far, how- 

 ever; for weeks afterward in the early morning she 

 would come to the windowsill, where food was always 

 kept for her, and call us in her own way. Once out 

 in the yard Kate spoke to her, and she answered but 

 did not come down; she had her own affairs to at- 

 tend to now and had no time for us. 



Her feathers were so glossy and fine and she was 

 so beautifully marked that at first she was readily 



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