Confidences | Page 3

long time the tiny seed lies very quietly in its warm nest, and if
we could peek at it we could not see it move at all, but all the time it is
growing very slowly, until finally some bright day it will send up its
little sprouts, and then we will see that all the time the seed was lying
so quietly it was growing into a baby flower.

* * * * *
"So the Bluebirds have contracted, have they, for a house? And a nest
is under way for little Mr. Wren?" "Hush, dear, hush! Be quiet, dear!
quiet as a mouse. These are weighty secrets, and we must whisper
them."
Susan Coolidge.
* * * * *
CHAPTER III
THE BIRD BABIES
Today, Violet, I shall tell you another secret, but this time the secret is
not about flowers, but about something else we love very dearly. I
intend to tell you some secrets about the birds. I wonder if you know
how much they are like the flowers?
You remember, the flowers had a language which we could understand,
even if they did not talk out loud. The birds, too, have a language of
their own, and they can express themselves better than the flowers, for
they have a sign language, and are also able to make sounds. How
much we enjoy hearing the birds sing, not only because they make
beautiful music, but because they are telling us how happy they are!

If birds are in pain or in trouble, their notes are quite different from
when they are singing; while, if they or their little ones are in danger,
they quickly send forth a note of warning. The young birds, in calling
for food, make an entirely different sound, and the answer of the
mother bird is a sweet lullaby. One of the ways birds express
themselves in sign language is by their feathers. If they are sick, their
feathers droop. When they are well and happy, their feathers seem
much brighter.
In the bird family, as in the flower family, each member has a special
work to do. The mother bird and the father bird work together to build
the nest, but while the mother bird lays the eggs and then must sit on
them for a number of days, the father bird must bring her food and
water and sometimes take his turn watching the nest while the mother
goes for a little exercise. The mother bird's body resembles the plant,
too, for it needs fresh air, food and water. Instead of leaves to take in
the air it has lungs, which not only take in the fresh air but also send
out the impure air. Instead of the little rootlets to take in the food and
water from the ground, the bird has a mouth, and as the bird is not
fastened to the ground, but is free to fly or move about, it goes after its
food. Instead of sap, it has blood to carry the food to all parts of the
body.
The birds have ovaries just the same as the flowers, and inside each
ovary are a number of little seeds or ovules which by and by will grow
into birdies. It takes quite a while for the ovules to ripen, just as it took
quite a while for the seeds to ripen, and when they are ripe they must
have a nest prepared for them, just as the flowers did. But the birds are
not as helpless as the flowers, and are able to make their own nests. So
when the ovules (which are called eggs when they are ripe) are ready,
the parent birds select a nice place for a home.
The father and mother work very hard until the nest is finished. Often
the mother will line it with some of her own feathers, so that it will be
soft and warm. After the nest is ready the mother bird lays the tiny eggs
in it. Then she must sit on them to keep them warm for many days, for
the eggs, like the seeds, cannot grow unless they are kept good and

warm. If we look at the eggs from day to day we will not be able to see
any change in them, but the change is inside the shell where we cannot
see it. Every day there is an alteration taking place, and the egg
gradually is being transformed into the little bird. After a while, when
the right time comes, the birdie will peck a tiny hole in the shell. This
will keep growing larger and larger until it is large enough for the
birdie to come through, then out it comes!

* * * * *
A sweet, new