though it
could not go a bit farther, the little creature would manage to flutter
on just beyond the eager hands of the children.

"That's funny!" exclaimed Teddy. "I almost had one of 'em that time!"

"So did I!" added Janet. "Now I'm sure I can get this one!" and she ran
forward to grasp the fluttering bird, but it managed to hop along, just
out of her reach.

The one Ted was after did the same thing, and for some time the children
hurried on after the birds. At last the two songsters, with little
chirps and calls, suddenly flew high in the air and circled back through
the woods.

"Well, would you look at that!" cried Teddy, in surprise.

"They can fly, after all!" gasped Janet. "What d'you s'pose made 'em
pretend they couldn't?"

"I--I guess they wanted to fool us," said her brother.

And that really was it. The little birds had built a nest in a low bush,
close to the ground where the children could easily have reached it if
they had seen it. And they were very close to it, though their eyes had
not spied it.

But the birds had seen the Curlytops and, fearing that Jan and Ted might
take out the eggs in the nest, the wise little birds had pretended to be
willing to let the boy and girl catch them instead of robbing the nest.

Of course, Jan and Ted wouldn't have done such a thing as that! But the
birds knew no differently. Not all birds act this way--pretending to be
hurt, or that they can't fly--to get people to chase after them, and so
keep far away from the little nests. But this particular kind of bird
always does that.

Some day, if you are in the woods or the fields, and see one bird--or
two--acting in this queer way, as though it could not fly or walk, and
as though it wanted you to hurry after it and try to catch it--if you
see a bird acting that way you may be sure you are near its nest and
eggs and this is the way the bird does to get you away.

"Let's look for their nest," suggested Teddy, when the two birds had
flown far away, back through the woods.

"Oh, no," answered Jan. "We don't want to scare them. Maybe we can look
at the nest of a bird that won't mind if we watch her feeding her
little ones."

And, a little later, they came to a bush in which was a robin's nest. In
it were some tiny birds, and, by standing on their tiptoes, and bending
the nest down a little way, the Curlytops could look in. The baby birds,
which had only just begun to grow feathers, opened their mouths as wide
as