io6 A SUCCESSFUL PRETENDER 
them greatly, but they manifest no reluctance, nor 
do they show any suspicion of the fraud that has been 
perpetrated or the tragedy that has robbed them of 
their natural offspring ♦ This thankless gourmand is 
all that is left to them after the hopes, joys, cares, 
worries, and trials of their domestic life* The parents 
of the impostor have evaded their natural responsi- 
bilities and are away with a gay crowd of kindred 
spirits enjoying themselves in the distant cow 
pasture* There they gather on the ground and flit 
about as if it were the season of migration, quite 
unmindful of the parental duties they have unfeelingly 
shifted to others* 
The little Chipping Sparrows found one day an 
extra egg in their nest, larger than their own, 
and with a white instead of a blue ground for 
its even, cinnamon-brown markings* They marvelled 
greatly at the unexpected addition to their treasures, 
and held many serious discussions as to whether the 
strange gift was a piece of good or bad fortune* 
Some birds revolt against the gratuitous intrusion of 
the Cowbird, and occasionally the gift is regarded 
with such aversion that another floor is built in the 
nest above it, and it is left to its fate* But the Chippies 
accepted the foundling and warmed it into life* 
Then the stranger began to manifest the greedy 
aggression which seems a natural heritage from 
parents shamelessly neglectful. The rightful heirs 
