Parting Guests 



ing and with no avail. At an early hour I heard 

 a quick eager caroling. It was followed by a 

 hush, the silence of discovery. When into the 

 cool gray dawn I had rushed out with my bur- 

 den, the father was already on the trellis, a worm 

 dribbhng from his beak, the mother making fran- 

 tic search among the leaves. As I moved the 

 tin upon the lawn and waited, they eyed me with 

 suspicion. Was I making sport of tragedy? But 

 as I lifted one fledgling in my hand, then placed 

 it fluttering on the grass, there was an instant 

 sign of recognition, a quick tilt of the head. Back 

 I put the bird and disappeared. In a moment 

 I saw the mother swoop to within a foot of the 

 can, hop towards it cautiously, peck its gleaming 

 surface and then listen, head cocked on one side. 

 Round and round she went, much as I might 

 have encircled an oil tank had I known it to 

 contain my offspring. At last after a breathless 

 pause, she hopped upon the rim and regarded 

 fixedly the miracle before her eyes. But she was 

 above aU things practical and was soon on the 

 wing in search for food. Once I was sure that 

 the tank had conveyed the idea of home, I moved 

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