LIFE OF MR. AND MRS. WREN. 
79 
All the time that his family are to be pro- 
vided for, they are to be protected. Blue jays 
and cats are his special abhorrence, particu- 
larly the latter. The jays cannot, as a gen- 
eral thing, get into his house, even if they 
should dare to come to its neighborhood, w'hich 
they seldom do, as the Wrens usually inhabit 
a martin-box, or nook in a piazza, or hole in a 
tree quite close to a dwelling-house. But cats 
ascend to his nest, and by thrusting in their 
paws through the twigs, they are able to pull 
out and devour the whole family. There- 
fore, the moment a cat shows herself near his 
home, Mr. Wren flies to meet her, he alights 
on a shrub close above her head, and scold- 
ing and calling her all the hard names pos- 
sible, he dares her to attack him. 
Puss regards her antagonist with contempt, 
at first ; but so persistent is he in his attacks, 
so closely does he press her, first on one side, 
then on another, scolding, chattering, grima- 
cing, that, in confusion, she soon turns and 
moves towards the house; and the occur- 
rences are not rare when the little warrior 
