These little doves, they washed their gloves, And hung them on the line; These little doves, they dried their gloves, And thought it very fine.

"Oh, mother dear, come here, come here, For we have washed our gloves!"

"Washed your gloves, you loves of doves, Then you shall stay till nine!"

"Coo, coo, coo!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Wren and her Nest.]

LESSON XIII.

_THE LITTLE WREN._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

1. One of the prettiest birds that fly about our doors in summer is the friendly little wren. It makes its home near the house, and its glad song can be heard throughout the whole day.

2. One kind of wren builds its nest under the eaves, as shown in the picture; but the common house-wren builds in almost any hole it can find in a shed or stable.

3. They have been known to choose an old boot left standing in a corner, an old hat hanging against the wall, and one time a workman, taking down a coat which he had left for two or three days, found a wren's nest in the sleeve.

4. The wren flies low, and but a little way at a time. Its legs, like most of the singing birds, are small and weak, and it does not walk, but when on the ground it goes forward by little hops.

5. It flies with a little tremor of its wings, but without any motion of its body or tail. While its mate is sitting, the father wren will flutter slowly through the air, singing all the time.

6. The mother wren lays from six to ten eggs, and hatches them out in ten days. The young birds are naked of feathers, and seem to have only mouths, which open for something to eat.

7. The old birds are busy in bringing the young ones worms and insects, until they are old enough to fly. In this way a single pair of wrens will destroy many hundred insects every day.

8. The wren quarrels with other birds if they try to build nests too near it. It will often take the nest of the martin or bluebird when the owner is away, and hold on to it.

9. At one time a wren was seen to go into the nest which a pair of martins had just finished. When the martins came back, it beat them off. The martins kept watch, and, when the wren was out, they went back into their box, and built up a strong door, so the wren could not get in.

10. For two days the wren tried to force its way in; but the martins held on, and went without food during that time. At last the wren gave up, and built a nest elsewhere, leaving the martins in quiet possession of their own nest.

LESSON XIV.

_THE SINGING THRUSH._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

1. The thrush is one of our best singing birds. It does not come near the house, like the wren, but it builds its nest in thickets and quiet places, where it is not liable to be disturbed.

2. It lives on berries and insects. It is a shy bird; but in the edge of the wood its song may be heard often during the day, becoming more frequent toward evening.

3. The mother bird lays from four to six eggs, and both father and mother sit on the eggs and take care or the young.

4. The thrush is double the size of the wren, and nearly all the kinds are brown in color, some having their wings tipped with red or yellow.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

5. The brown thrush, or brown thrasher as it is sometimes called, is bold and strong, and when a cat or fox comes prowling about near its nest it flies at him so savagely that he is glad to get out of the way.

6. It is not afraid of hawks, and it has a special spite against snakes that come around to rob its nest. When it sees a snake, it flies at him with great rage, and kills him or drives him off.

7. The hermit thrush lives in the dark, thick woods, and many people think its song, which is heard in the evening twilight, is sweeter than that of any other bird.

LESSON XV.

_ROBIN-REDBREAST._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

1. "O Robin, Robin-Redbreast, O Robin, Robin dear!

O Robin sings so sweetly in the falling of the year!"

So says the old song, but Robin sings just as sweetly all the summer long.

2. The robin is better known than most birds. It comes earliest in the spring, and goes away late in the fall. It builds its nest near houses, and every day flies about the garden and yard, picking up such crumbs as may be thrown to it. It is the special favorite of children.

3. It is three times as large as the wren. Its color is a dark olive-gray above, with a red breast. Its head and throat are streaked with black and white.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

4. It has a pleasant, home-like little song, and its notes vary with the weather, being much more joyous on bright, warm days.

5. The English robin is about half the size of ours, but has the same gray coat, and a somewhat redder breast.

6. It lives about yards and gardens, and wakes people up in the morning with its charming little song. It does not like to have other birds, or cats, come too near its nest; and when they do, it flies at them with great rage.

7. When the robin has once built its nest it is not easily driven away. Once, a wagon loaded for a journey was left standing a few days in a yard. Under the canvas covering of this wagon a pair of robins built their nest.

8. After the wagoner started, he found the nest, with the young just hatched. The old birds went along, taking turns in brooding the young ones and in flying about for worms.

9. The wagon went a hundred miles and back, and, by the time it came back to the place of starting, the young birds were pretty well grown.

You may be sure that the wagoner did not let any one disturb the birds on the route.

10. One spring a pair of thrushes were seen about the garden of a country house. One of them seemed ill, and could hardly get about. It would hop a little way, and then stop, too tired to go farther.