Night 7.

ON THE SWIFT TRIBE.

Look up, my dear," said Mr. Hill to his son Frank, at those birds' nests in the eaves of the house. Some, you see, are made of no more than a patch of clay stuck on the wall, while some are built up close and tight, with a small hole left for the old birds to come in and go out at.

See how fast they fly to and fro, with clay and earth in their beaks, which they lay on their nests, and form them to the right shape with their feet, and then they line them with down to make them soft for their young. Some

too, have flies, gnats, and grubs in their bills, to feed their brood with.

"It is good fun to watch their ways, and to see how fast they skim through the air in chase of their prey! They are up at sun rise, and chirp round the house while you are yet in bed; and all day long are on the wing to get food. As soon as they have caught a few flies they haste to their nests, pop in at the hole, and feed their young ones. I will tell you a tale which shows the great care they take of them.

A pair once built their nest in a porch; but one of the young ones fell out, and when the old birds found him dead on the stones, they set out at once to get some strong bits of straw, on which they stuck mud, so that it had the look of a small fence all round the hole

in their nest. This was done that the young birds which were left should not share the same fate as the one that was lost.

On hot days they have been known to fly to and fro in front of their nest, to screen their young ones from the heat of the sun's rays.

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How wise of them!" said Will.

Yes, and they are wise in more ways than one; for when the cold time of the year draws near, these birds meet in large flocks on high roofs, with the view to make their flight to some warm clime; for as the flies here die of the frost, they would have no food if they were to stay. They take short trips at first, just to try their strength, and then on some fine calm day, they all set off and wing their way to a far land."

"But how do they find their way?" said Frank.

Mr. Hill told him that God gives them a sense of the right road and the right time to leave us; and they steer their course through the wide air straight to the spot for which they are bound. It is true, storms and winds now and then meet them, and drive the poor birds to and fro till they are quite spent, and are lost in the sea if there is no ship near for them to rest on.

When the spring comes they take a long flight back to us, and now and then a few of them come too soon, and in the frost and snow the poor things starve for want of food or die from the cold; but when a large flock come, we may be sure the cold has gone.

These birds find their way for miles and miles of sea and land to the same

house where they were bred; this you can prove if you put a mark on one of them; and they mend their old nests or build new ones, and then bring up their brood. There are but few men or boys who will knock down their nests, or steal their eggs and young ones; they come such a long way to dwell with us, that we ought to treat them well.

Night 8.

THE APE, THE DOG, AND THE MOUSE.

A POOR young mouse-Peep by name-was much in want of food, and made bold one day to steal out of her hole and pick up the crumbs