. My pets; real happenings in my aviary . torest. At first I permitted it, for it gave them bothexercise. Then, when the exercise increased till itbecame over-exertion, I took them both out of thecage and put them on the roof-veranda. By thistime the sparrow could feed himself, but the robincould not. With strange inconsistency, the smallerbird would stuff himself with bread and milk, oregg-food, then he would run after the robin with hiscry of, More, more! The poor robin would run from one side of theveranda to the other, skipping over food and waterdishes, and occasionally stopping short, an
. My pets; real happenings in my aviary . torest. At first I permitted it, for it gave them bothexercise. Then, when the exercise increased till itbecame over-exertion, I took them both out of thecage and put them on the roof-veranda. By thistime the sparrow could feed himself, but the robincould not. With strange inconsistency, the smallerbird would stuff himself with bread and milk, oregg-food, then he would run after the robin with hiscry of, More, more! The poor robin would run from one side of theveranda to the other, skipping over food and waterdishes, and occasionally stopping short, and turningon the sparrow with wide-open bill. 55 My Pets The sparrow never gave up the chase until Dixieeluded him by slipping into some he would go all about, peering into cornerswith his sharp Httle eyes till he found him. I have heard strangers utter shrieks of laughterat this peculiar pursuit of the robin by the these two birds grew older it was just asamusing, for then they flew from place to place. 56. CHAPTER VI DIXIE AND TARDY WHEN Dixie was about three weeks old he be-came afflicted by a cough. He had a maniafor bathing. I could not keep him out of the waterdishes. He was soaked from morning till night,and finally he sounded like a consumptive robin. Itried shutting him in a cage, but that fretted him;and when he came out he was more anxious tobathe than ever. The cough hung about him forweeks, and I made up my mind that I was going tolose him, but he finally recovered from it. I used to hear him coughing at night, for I sleptin a room opening off the roof-veranda. I would 57 My Pets put my head out the doorway in the morning, andsay, Well, Dixie, how is the cough? He knewquite well that I was addressing him, and wouldgive a little croupy bark in answer. I became sofond of him, and his cough clung to him so late inthe season, that I resolved to keep him. Not sowith the sparrow. I thought it would be better tolet him go, and one day I put h
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