of the nearest window. which ghicided them enough so that 
the fears of the little builder were lessened, in order that — 
they might see what was happening. Most of those boys, — 
and as many girls, visited that window again and again, 
where they might look into the small nest and wonder at — 
its contents. Infinite was thé patience of the primary | 
- teacher who had to oversee this invasion of the wriggling 
groups of children mornings, noons, and afternoons, and to-_ 
answer the whys and whats of all. - 
The watching pupils were surprised when they Saw bu 
one little white-breasted, green-backed bird at work carry- 
ing in scraps of cobweb to arrange for the circular found- _ 
ation. They were astonished when they were told that it 
was the mother bird, and they found that the father bird 
never appeared to help in nest building or caring for the 
- young, because that was not the custom they knew. 
They learned that a half inch, slender bill could be used | 
as a needle to weave in bits of down, collected from the tiny 
seed parasols of the willow or thistle, and that this same 
tool was skillfully managed in sewing on ornaments of moss — 
and gray-green lichens which had been found on the stems ~ 
of hazel and alder, or were parts of the long, pendant — 
streamers of old fir trees. As the bird worked, they caught 
glimpses of a fiery red shining feather or two, that she wore ~ 
as a breastpin, and they also saw in front of and under her 
tail the same color as that on robin’s breast. 
When the news flashed over the school that a white 
egg, showing a pink flush, was in the nest, other teachers © 
asked that all of their children might be allowed to visit the 
favored room to get a glimpse of the rarity. The excite- 
ment grew when the second egg with its greatest length 
only one-half inch was there beside the first one. Almost - 
a dozen of such beauties might have been held in the 
teacher’s hand, and yet, how could so small a bird care for — 
two of them? Discussions about them spread around the 
