34 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
tice the sparrows down ; and they came to the feast 
fast enough, ate heartily, and then returned to their 
favorite masthead. When the vessel had been two 
days at sea, the sparrows seemed to feel quite at 
home, and came down from their perch to be fed 
as a matter of course. 
“ The voyage lasted several days, and on reaching 
the river Tyne, to which the vessel was bound, a nest 
was found on the mast-top with four young ones in 
it ; and what do you suppose the crew did with their 
prize? Took it very carefully down, while the spar- 
rows watched their proceedings, and set them up 
afresh in housekeeping in the crevice of an old 
ruined house on the banks of the river.” 
“Did the little birds like it as well there as on 
the mast?” 
“ They appeared to,” was the reply, “ for they 
went on bringing up their family as if nothing had 
happened.” 
“ Is that all ?” asked little Edith. 
“ It is all about those sparrows, dear. But I am 
going to tell you now about a kind little sparrow 
who took care of a canary-bird. A lady had a pet 
canary which was so noisy that she had to hang his 
cage outside of her window, among some trees that 
were trained up in front of the house. 
“ One morning, while the family were at breakfast, 
