WHY TOMMY FELT ASHAMED 63 



darted up and flew by me so swiftly I could hear 

 her wings whizz. 



" ' It's strange,' I thought, ' that little bird 

 isn't out taking breakfast, or singing its morning 

 carol.' But I knew also that when a bird starts 

 up just in front of your face, she has some 

 good reason for staying just where she is until the 

 last minute before she expects to be covered by a 

 strange foot. ' The lady has left her nest and 

 eggs,' I thought, and then I looked about to see 

 where they were. 



" But now comes the strange part of the story. 

 I saw two things at once : The Wood Betony and 

 the nest of the golden thrush. In it there were 

 five white eggs, speckled with brown. Perhaps 

 it was the flower I saw first; but about that I'm 

 not sure. Anyway the flower grew all around and 

 above the nest, which was flat on the ground, and 

 thatched over the top and almost hidden by some 

 old leaves. You know the little oven birds build 

 their nests so as to enter at the sides. 



" I suppose I can never make any one under- 

 stand how excited I was when I saw that flower. 

 I forgot everything but that I had found it, and 

 that it was there before my eyes. I forgot about 

 treating flowers well, and that their lives are as 

 dear to them as mine is to me. I forgot al- 

 together about the little golden thrush. I just re- 

 membered that I wanted that flower. I stooped 

 down and tore it up from the ground, root, nest 



