168 
OUR BIRDS IN WINTER. 
their breakfast, and were pluming their feath- 
ers in the warm sun. 
Wait a bit,” said Chick, hammering at the 
bark, and I’ll tell you.” 
After a few vigorous blows at the lurking- 
place of the grub, the bark fell off, and the 
luscious morsel was exposed to view ; seizing 
and giving it a sharp peck or two. Chick swal- 
lowed his prize, and then resumed his re- 
marks. 
‘•It was in the month of July, two years 
ago,” he began, “ that Mrs. Chick and I, hav- 
ing reared a family of eight little Chicks, and 
advanced them to the period of independence, 
feeling that some little recreation and change 
of scene would be of benefit to both of us, con- 
cluded to take a trip to regions unknown to us. 
So one morning, bright and early, we started. 
Travelling eastward by easy stages, we arrived 
late in the afternoon at a grove of cedars that 
stood on a long stretch of sandy beach. Mrs. 
Chick, who was very thirsty, flew down to the 
beach for a drink of the water that stretched 
out as far as we could see before us. One 
