Evening star., 1902-08-16
Dear Children. /.

Dear Children.
Did you ever see or feed chick-a-dee,
and did you ever know that this bird takes
its name from it's notes? Any boy or whis-
tling girl even can initiate his call we'll
enough to draw him out and if he is cheer
ful he VIII say Observation-Disclosures; if
sulky. dcr-dee-dee. Try feeding them some
time and see how tame they become. They
will pick up the crumbs at your feet and
perhaps even from your hand. Bradford
Torrey says, i'll Everyday Birds that no
wild bird * more confding, and that one
of his prettIest traits is his skill in hang
ing back downward from the tip of a
swinging branch or from the under side Of
3 leaf while in search of provender. As a
small boy. who had probably been to the
circus, once said, the chick-a-dee is a first
rate performer on the flying trapeze."
William j. Long has discovered many
Secrets Of the woods and wilderness, and in
MS charming way he tells how you, too,
may read some of these secrets if you will.
He says in the preface to his last book,
secrets of the Woods that perhaps the
real reason why We see SO little in the
woods is because Of the way We go through
them, talking, laughing, ruStling, smash
ing twiSS. disturbing the peace of the sCli
Tudes by what must seem strange and un-
cOuth noises TO the little wild creatures
They, on the other hand he says, slip
with Euiseless feet through their native
coveTts. shy. silent listening more con-
cerned to hear than to be heard. loving the
silence, hating noise and fearing it, they
fear and hate their natural enemies Let
me quote the rest Of his words on this sub
ject, as you may not see the book. He
adds: We would not feel comfortable If a
big barbarian came into our quiet home,
broke the door down, whaCked his war
club on the furniture, and whOoped his bat
tie yell We could hardly be natural under
the circumstances. Our true dispositions
her NEHly- 10 1igTbf
vacate the house bodily. Just so wood
folk Only as you copy their ways can
You expect to share their life and their Sc
CretS. And it Is astonishing how little the
shyest of them fears you, if you but keep
silence and avoid all excitement, even of
feeling; for they understand your feeling
quite as much as your action
"A dog knows when you are afraid of him;
when you are hostile; when friendly. So
does bear. Lose your nerve, and the
horse you are riding goes to pieces in
stantly
Bubble over with suppressed excitement
and the deer yonder. stepping daintily down
the bank to your canoe in the water grasses,
viii stamp and snort and bound away with
out ever knowing what startled him. But
he quiet friendly. peace possessed in the
same place and the deer, ever after dis
covering you. will draw near and show his
curiosity In twenty pretty ways ere he
trOts away. looking back over his shoulder
for your last message. Then be generous
futter of bright handkerchief, a tin whis-
lie any other little kiCkshaw that the
remembrance of boys pocket may sug
gest-aGd the chances are that he will come
back again. finding curiosity so richly re-
wardsd. That is another point TO re-
member; all the wood folk are more curious
about You than You are about them. Sit
down quietly in the woods anywhere and
your coming will occasion the same stir
that a stranger makes in a New England
hill town. Control your curiosity, and soon
their curiosity gets beyond control; they
must come To find cut who you are and
what you are doing Then You have the
advantage. for, while their curiosity is be-
Ing satisfied they forget fear and show you
many curious bits Of their life that you will
never discover otherwise"
Perhaps some day soon 7 may be able to
tell you the story OF ToOkhees the 'Fraid
One" but in the meantime CO try to find
out some Of these wood secrets for your
selves and write TO me about them. You
will have a charming time, 1 know, whilst
You are trying It
Next week We shall begin our open letter
boN-that is. your little letters will soon
be In line for answers in this our weekly
coy corner Yours sincerely,
DOROTHY DAY.