Evening star., 1928-10-27
THE EVENING STORY

l6. That's long time to be a widow,
my dear. l wouldn't sell out now only
my sister wants me to come and live
with her. hope you'll be good to my
dear little house. / always wash the
paint Spring and Fall with gasoline
and water. Be careful about always
taking hold of the doorknobs. And if
you have rubber heels put on your shoes
your floors will stay nice longer. And
you must always lower the winder in
the kitchen when you bile meat. And
then'-a heavy sniff-"there's my bird
les my dear little wrens. They come
every Spring and nest under the
veranda. How they'll miss mel 1 hope
you'll be good to them, my dear. My
roor little wrens! If you... jl.... jz s.ss..yo7y
them few crumbs now and then. us
a hard world for little brides. l hope
you'll feed my wrens."
Peach nearly wept as she heard this
She promised everything, especially to
feed the wrens. She did not know what
wrens were. Almost the only birds
whose names she knew were the swan
and the ostrich, and she had seen them
in the city parks. She made up her
mind there and then that she would
protect and care for Mrs. Dukes little
VA 01COg CNC4l do G44o LuhC IlCISGll
have done.
Within week Mrs. Duke was gone
and the Russells were in the little gray
house. They had nothing, being so
newly married, to make home out of
aside from love and energy and high
enthusiasm. But there was a really
well stocked furniture and a second
hand shop both open to their patron
age. Perhaps Peach bought most at
the secondhand shop. She found such
bargains there and they cost so little.
And Billy discovered that he was some
thing of genius with hammer and
glue pot.
Such good time as they had with
their homemaking Such adventures.
such trials, which, however, always
turned out to be joyful occasions. And
Peach'S new cook book! What a mys-
terry it was at first! But she had the
sense not to attempt the impossible at
first. And the first time she placed a
simple little meal of baked macaroni
and cheese before Billy he did not
know that she had practiced upon it
for days.
One morning Peach was awakened
by great twittering about her open
bedroom window. She opened her eyes.
1t was scarcely light, but she could see
a little bird sitting on the window-sill
looking in at her.. This was one of
Mrs. Dukes Wrens. The friendly little
creature! She meant to cultivate him.
Next night when she went upstairs
to bed she found the same little bird
or SO she thought-sitting on the cord
that held the electric light bulb before
her little dressing table. Frightened,
the bird flew down from the cord and
went under the bed. 1t took both her
and Billy and an hours work to get
h1m successfully out of the window.
Billy began to complain that the
chirping of the birds kept him awake
mornings when he should be sleeping.
They aroused him as soon as it was
dawn.
"They make such an internal racket,
Peachie. I'd rather hear the old ele-
vated."
They're not so musical as I thought
wrens WERE" admitted Peach.
When one day she found a funny,
messy nest built on the window-ledge
of her bedroom she felt surprised. 1t
panied her that Billy should tear the
nest ruthlessly away. But the birds
came right back. Billy tore that nest
away seven times before he convinced
the birds they were not wanted.
But the birds did build in the bitter
sweet vine at the end of the porch and
within the porch itself. They were in
creaSingly noisy. And in no time at all
the nests were full of young birds!
One day Mrs. Ross came to sit on the
porch with Peach. Mrs. Ross was eld-
erly and agreeable and she had taken
more than neighborly interest in
Peach.
why don't you rout out those dread
ful sparrows?" she asked "They will
simply drive you out of the house if
you don't"
"Sparrows" gasped Peach. She
listened, amazed, while Mrs. Ross gave
her learned dissertation on the Sub
1ect. "Sparrows!" she repeated. "I
thought they were wrens!"
Come over to my house and I'll show
you Wren," replied Mrs. Ross, laugh
ing.
But it was not until, fascinated and
charmed, Peach listened to the spon-
taneouS outburst of the tiny golden
throated prima donna in Mrs. Ross
birdhouse that she realized how she had
been deceived. When she told Mrs.
Ross about Mrs. Dukes Injunction to
feed my wrens" the woman laughed
merrily.
"Myra Duke" she said, played good
joke on you. Probably she is laughing
in her sleeve over it at this minute.
Oh yes, she knew the difference. And
I'll tell you how know. She didn't
like me and she knew I loved the
wrens. So she cultivated these pesky
sparrows, thinking they would drive
away the other birds. Get rid of the
sparrows and the wrens will come, mark
my words"
The young Russells acted on her ad-
vice. They got rid of the sparroWs.
Then the real wrens came.
(The end)
Copyright. 1929