HOME BIRDS 25 



tually places his life in our hand he shows a faith 

 in our good-will that wins our heart. No one could 

 betray Chickadee's trust. 



When you have a food-shelf to which the same 

 Chickadees return day after day, it does not take 

 long to make friends with them. Soon they will 

 take a bit of nut from your hand and perch upon 

 your head or shoulders to ask for more. Several 

 times I have had this happen with strange Chicka- 

 dees in the woods far from home. The experience 

 was thrilling. I felt as though some sprite had 

 touched me with a magic wand and admitted me into 

 the ranks of woodland dwellers. 



If some day Chickadee touches you with his wand, 

 I believe that you, too, will find he has opened a 

 new world to you. A world of feathered folk whose 

 ways are more wonderful than fairy tales. You will 

 see them build their homes, quaint dwellings of grass 

 and straw, sticks and mud, neatly furnished with 

 hair, down or feathers. You will see the eggs, of 

 many colors and curious markings, they lay in them. 

 You will marvel, as all the world has marveled, that 

 from these dainty, polished shells the young ones 

 come. You may watch the parent birds care for 

 their families, and see the birdlings grow and don 

 their feathered suits. Perhaps you may actually be 

 near by when they make their first journey in the 



