The San Francisco call., 1909-10-30

tcfcu pOIcH. Ddck Oh the cottage is a
stable and in the stable loft family of
homing pigeons lives. The loft is clean
and white and sweet smelling and has
a window where the first rays of the
new born sun peep through. Around
the walls, in little boxes flied with
straw, the pigeons keep house COM
fortably and raise their babies with as
much care as human mothers almost,
both parents sharing in the work, for
meal time comes with little interval
for baby pigeons.
There, one bright February morning
when the sun shone as clear and warm
as IL the month were really May instead
of being in the rainy season, a baby
pigeon came out from his shiny egg.
The rains upon the stable roof, pelting
down between the kisses of the sun,
ran in little rvulets that sang and
whispered like mountain streams.
creeping along beneath the shadows of
the far distant northern woods. He
was funny baby, this little pigeon;
nearly all head, with wings that were
mere flippers and feathers that looked
more like pins than real feathers, but
? he was very hungry and the first thing
that he did was to tell his father and
his mother that he was very much in
need of food.
All about the loft were other pigeon
families and other baby pigeons and all
OF them were very hungry, too, for
they kept up constant peeping of
complaint. But among them all the
baby pigeon that had seen the sunlight
for the first time upon the bright and
summer like February day seemed to
be the hungriest and no matter how
often his father or his mother flew up
on the edge of the nest with food they
always found him with his mouth wide
open and his funny wings beating the
air. just as hungry as if he had not
had a meal for hours and hours.
But as the DAYS went by the little
pigeon grew. The hunger that was
ever present in his little stomach told
story of rapid growth and as the
days went by his muscles grew strong
and round and his body became cov
cred with beautiful feathers terra
Gotta colored that shone as if some one
had polished them.
One day when he was just beginning
to wonder what wings were for man
came into the loft, the same man who
had come there every morning since he
could remember and, as he did always,
he sprinkled sweet, clean grain about
the floor, put it in little boxes where
the old pigeons perched and brought
new water for the thirsty birds. Then,
after he had looked into the nests
where all the smaller baby birds were
tucked away, he walked over to the
nest where the hungry, terra Gotta col
ored little youngster was and looked
at him. The little pigeons mother
scolded and quarreled as the man
pushed her aside, but his father flew
UP on the mans shoulder and perched
there perfectly at home. They both
knew that they were safe when the
man picked them up, but the mother,
tired out from fussing over her babies,
couldn't help scolding a little, and as
she buzzed away more like an angry
bumblebee than a mother pigeon the
man laughed and rubbed her shiny
feathers. Then he picked the little bird
UP and slipped a little german silver
bracelet on his leg, over his foot, which
was as soft as a human babys hand
The bracelet was light and loose and
had a letter and number on 1t, and
when he had put the little bird down
the man took note book out of his
pocket, put down the date when the
baby bird had come out from hisuegg,
the name of his father and his mother
and then wrote B-5S5.
But as he put the baby bird down he
glanced at him and laughed. you're
such a red feathered youngster," he
said. II think I'll have to call you
Red"
The door that led into the loft from
outside was little arch that had
wire gate swinging down, and when
one of the old pigeons came home from
flight he pushed the wire gate up and
crept through into where the rest of
the pigeons were waiting for news
from the outside world. The gate be-
fore the door swung one way only and
when a pigeon came inside he had to
stay until the man who fed them came
and fixed the door so that the way was
open. Before long the nest where the
pigeon family lived had three bright,
shiny, white eggs in 1t and the young
birds father and his mother were very
busy indeed. Both of them took turns
keeping the eggs warm, and sometimes
when the mother bird would forget that :
it was her turn the father pigeon would
irah q ne md l,.o.