273 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



he got back to Deal, and there he was at home. He 

 said the only way to lose it was to take it somewhere 

 away from the sea ; so he wrapped it up again and 

 took it to his Aunt Ellen's at Northbourne, about 

 five miles from Deal. His aunt told him to carry 

 it to the park, where he'd find other daws and settle 

 down. And that's what he did, but Jackie came back 

 to Deal again that same day ; the strangest thing 

 was that mother and father made a great fuss over 

 it and fed it just as if they were glad to have it back. 

 Next day it got into the parlour and broke some more 

 things, and mother scolded him for not getting rid 

 of the bird, and father said he knew how it could 

 be done. One of his pals was going to Dover, and 

 he would ask him to take the bird and let it go up 

 by the castle where it would mix with the jackdaws 

 there, and that would be too far away for it to come 

 back. But it did come back, and after that he sent 

 it to Ashford, and then to Canterbury, and I don't 

 know how many other places, but it always came back, 

 and they always seemed very glad to see it back. 

 All the same, mother was always scolding him about 

 the bird and complaining to father about the damage 

 it did in the house. Then one day Aunt Ellen came 

 to see mother, and told her the best way to get rid 

 of the daw would be to send it abroad ; she said her 

 husband's cousin, Mr. Sturge, was going out to 

 his relations in Canada to work on their farm, and 



