Year: 1870




buy houses, nor hire them. They al
WAYS build them. They always build
them themselves without any help.
Why they are so particular, / don't
know, but the fact is that they will not
live in a house that anybydy else has
lived in, or that has been built by any
claws any beaks but their own. They
always build their houses after the
same pattern, and of the same materi-
ais. One would think that among the
great numbers who build every spring,
some would desire to build their houses
a little different from others, but they
are built just alike.


Another singular thing about robins
is that they must have n new house
every spring. A great many persons
move every spring, but i never heard
of family that built new house eve-
ry spring, and moved into it. But you
had rather hear about the robins than
about houses.


| Two young robins, as i said, got
married, and wanted to go to house,
keeping. The first thing they had to
| do was to select a place for building.


81 think,n said Mr.. Robin, "that
we had better go away off into the
| woods where the trees are thick and
| large. We shall be out of the way of
boys and cats. Boys and eats are very
bad things for robins. They both can
climb up to our houses, and they both
catch and eat young robins when they
are learning to fly. wish there were
no boys and cats"


:" dont't like to live away off in the
WOOD" said Mrs. Robin, "it will be SO
gloomy and lonesome. The sun don't
shine brightly there, and when it rains,
it takes so long to get dry
| MIR. Robin was about to say, "just
like women who are governed by feel
ing instead of Judgment" and that
persons who are just married always
wait while before they speak cross to
| their wives.


"Well, where would you like to
build?" said he pleasantly. r
| GO think we had better build near
some farmhouse" said she. H
And have boys and cats plaguing
| US all the time?'
II know place where there are no
boys, and where the eat is the most
amiable creature in the world. The
prospect is very pleasant, and there
are plenty of worms on the currant
bushes and grape vines in the garden"
Well, let us go and see the place."
So they flew away to Mr.. Barclays
farmhouse. There was row of trees
in front of the house. In a nest on one
of these trees Mrs. Robin had been
Matched out, and reared. 1t was nat
ural that she should desire to return to
her native place. ir.
MIR. Robin was pleased with the situ-
| alton. He saw that it offered many
advantages. There was safety from
the hawks and owls to which they were
exposed in the forest. A view of these
advantages decided him to build on
one of the trees, but like some other
folks, he pretended that he was govern
| ed wholly by the wishes of his wife.
eff you prefer to build here, nv
dear, shall make no objections. / am
willing you should have your own
way in the matter"


Mrs. Robin was greatly pleased
| that she had husband who was so
ready to yield to her wishes i'm regard
to the place of building. She felt that
she ought to yield to his wishes i'm eve
rything else, which she did.
| They selected branch on which to
build, and without delay proceeded to
collect and put in order materials for
building. They worked very hard.
and were soon ready to move into their
new house. They needed no furniture
except bed. This was soon made of
hair and of the softest wool that could
be found sticking on the bushes where
the sheep had wandered.
In very few days there were three
or four blue eggs in the nest, and not
long after, three or four featherless
birds, whose eyes were shut, but whose
mouths were open very wide, whenev-
er they heard anything come near their
| nest.


"Don't you think we have a fine
family ?'i said Mrs. Robin to her hus-
| husband.


''They look ratherscrawny justnow,r
said he.


=" But you wait till they get their fea-
theirs on, and then you'll see. don't
| believe there Were ever finer set of
robins Matched out"


This brief conversation was held
while they were seated on q limb over
their nest. They never stopped long to
talk, for it took them nearly all the
time to get food enough for their babies.


Just as they were about to start off
for more food, a large kite lodged i'm the
tree at some distance above the nest.
They did not know what it was. AT
first they thought that it was a great
bird-some new kind of hawk, and
they were very much frightened. Mrs.
Robin did not take any pains to con-
ceal her fear which was not for herself.
but for her babies. She was afraid that
great, broad thing, with a monstrous
tail, had come to kill her babies. Mr..
Robin was quite as much frightened on
his own account as Mrs. Robin was ON
account of her children. He flew to
the next tree under pretence of getting
better view of the strange object, but
in reality to be further away from il.
He was q Robin of some sense. and
soon saw that whatever it was. il WAS
not alive. So he flew back 10 his wife.
and told her that it would not hurt
them, they must hurry and get some
food for the children. suspect he was
in hurry to get out ofsight of the kite.


While they were gone, the boy to
whom the kite belonged, climbed up
into the tree after it. In so doing he
discovered the Robins nest. "GoOd,n
said he, L am glad my kite-string
broke; 1T has given me a nest of young
robins. Pll watch you my lads, and
when you get your coats on / will take
possession of you.


He visited the nest every few days,
and the old birds saw him. They
guessed what iIe had i'm view and de-
termined to cheat him if possible They
made the young robins stand ON the
edge of the nest and fian thair winou
that they might learn how to fly. AS
soon as they could use their wings a
all the old bird pushed them out Of the
nest They were thus compelled to
fly, as well as they could. They flew
into the cornfield and were thus out of
sight.


The very day that they got them safe
into the cornfield, the boy climbed up
to the nest with wire cage i'm his hand.
Bother" said he, "they have all
flown away"


Years and Leap Tears.