The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-08-23

The bluc-birds and the hOusC.Wrcns mort
frequently come into collision. A few wear,
ago put uD Il little bird in the back
end Of my garden for the accommodation OF
the Wrcns, and every season pair have taken
up their abode there. one spring a pair OF
bluc.birds looked into the tenement and
fingered abolt several days, leading me
to hope that they would conclude to occupy
it. But they finally went away, and later in
the season the wrens appeared, and after u
little COqucttin@ were regularly installed in
their old quarters, and were as happy as only
WrCns can be-
One Of our younger poets, Myron Benton,
saw little bird
! "-runlcd with whirIwind Of his ccstucir,,"
which must have been the wren, as know of
no other bird that so thrObs and palpitatcs
with music rs this little vagabond And the
| pair speak Of seemed exceptionally happy
and the male had small tornado Of song in
his crop that kept him "rutfled" every mo.
ment in the day But before their honey
moon was over the blue-birds returned |
knew something was wrong before | was up
in the morning Instead of that voluble and
gushing song outside the window heard the
wrcns scolding and crying at a fearful rate
and on going out saw the blue.birds in pos
session Of the box The poor wrens were in
despair; they wrung their hands and tore
their hair after the wren fashion, but chiefly
did they rattle out their disgust and wrath at
the intrudcrs. | have no doubt that ifit could
have been interpreted it would have proven
the rankcst and most voluble Billingsgatc ever
uttered. For the wren is saucy,:and he has
tongue in his head that can Outwag any
other tongue known to me.
The bluc-birds said nothing, but the male
kept an eye on Mr.. Wren; and when he came
too near, gave chase, driving him to cover
under the fence or under Il rubbish heap or
other object, where the wren would SCold and
rattle away, while his pursucr sat ON the
fence or the pca.bruSh waiting for him to re-
appear
Days passed, and the u,urpcrs prospercd
and the outCasts were wretchcd; but the lat.
ter fingered about, watching and abusing
their enemies, and hoping, no doubt, that.
things would take turn, and they presently
did. The outraged wrcns were fully avenged
The mother blucb bird had lain her full com
plemcnt OF eggs and was beginning to set
When one day, as her mate was pcrchcd above
her on the barn, along came a boy with one
of those elastic sings and cut him down with
a pebble. There he lay like a bit of sky al.
len upon the grass. The widowed bird
seemed to understand what had happened
and without much ado disappeared next day
in quest of another mate
In the meantime the wrens were beside
with delight; they fairly screamed |
with joy. If the male was before "ruhIcd |
with whirlwind of his cCstacicS," he was now
in danger Of being rent asundcr lie inflated |
his throat and caroled as wren never caroled .
before And the female, too, how hcCacklcd |
and dartcd about! How busy they both
were! Rushing into the nest, they hustled |
those eggs ont in less than a minute, wren
time. They carried in new material, and by |
the third day, 50 rapidly are these little
dramas played, the female blue.Dird reap
pearcd with another mate. All. how the
wren stock went down then, What dismav
md despair filled again those little breasts.
It was pititul. They did not scold rs before
Jut after ii day or two withdrew from the
garden, dumb with gricf and gave up the
trugglc.-John H"nogahs. III NoTbnrS
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