86 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIRDS. 
industrious old birds perseveringly laboring to fill gaping 
throats tliat were nearly large enough to swallow them bodily 
whole. I now narrowed the hole with wire so that the blue 
birds could get in and the mocking birds could not get out, 
for they were quite double the size of their foster parents. 
When they were full fledged we took them to the house 
and placed them in an aviary I had prepared for them in a 
recess which contained a large window and looked out upon 
the gardens. In two days I found to my great astonishment 
the old blue birds endeavoring to feed them through the 
Avires. They had found them out, the faithful creatures, and 
not content with having already spent double the amount of 
labor upon them that they would have bestowed upon their 
own offspring, they followed them up with their unweary- 
ing solicitude. 
I was greatly shocked at first to observe the cool indiffer- 
ence with which the young aristocrats of song surveyed their 
humble foster parents. After awhile it came — ^in spite of the 
shameful ingratitude it exhibited — ^to be a constant scource 
of merriment with us to watch the lordly and impudent non- 
chalance with which they would turn their heads to one 
side and look down at the poor blue birds — fluttering against 
the bars with tender cries to attract their notice — with an 
expression which seemed as plainly as could be to say, " Who 
are you, pray ? — get away you common fellows 1" 
A fine pair of old mocking birds found them, too, but 
when they came, our gentry behaved very differently, and 
seemed crazy to get out. They became very tame, and 1 
finally fulfilled my vow of turning them loose, and for a long 
time they were so tame that they would take food from our 
hands anywhere. They lived on the place^ and we felt our- 
selves for 3'ears afterwards plentifully — aye, bounteously re- 
warded for our anxiety on account of the little outcasts, by 
the glorious songs they sang for us the summer nights to 
dream by. Thus it was my fair sister helped me out of the 
scrape Avith my young mocking birds ! 
