6 
THE DECISION 
he helped him to hang one from a tree; to swing 
another from the veranda, and to set the third in a 
niche of the wall separating the triangle from 
Nestly Heights. We flattered ourselves then that 
we were quite In advance of the bird season. 
Yet the very next day a bluebird flew with much 
directness and took possession of the house hung 
to the tree. It must have been the female bird 
that slipped In first to see If it pleased her practical 
mind. She very quickly decided to occupy It for 
the summer, and when she joined her mate, who sat 
on the top of the house, she nodded her head and 
appeared to be telling him all her Intended arrange- 
ments. Joseph thought that they were also con- 
gratulating themselves that their long trip north- 
ward was over and that they could now settle down 
in so cosy a home. 
Soon after this we were overtaken by the ap- 
proach of spring. There was a scent of new earth 
In the air and the sound of soft winds In the tree- 
tops. Winter with its biting cold was being driven 
away. The bluebirds talked loudly together, and 
at the point of the triangle where it becomes soft 
and. spongy to the feet we saw a number of long, 
slender, black birds, very merry and busy with woo- 
ing and chatter. Yet the grass that covered the 
triangle was still colourless; the trees were bare, 
and the earth under them was strewn with dead 
leaves. Noticing these things. Little Joseph asked 
if spring really began in March. 
