next day the cat came creeping along again toward the nest; but
the blackbird was ready for her, and gave her another good drubbing
until she again fell off the fence and ran away.

10. Afterward, the bird took to hunting the cat every time she came
about, until he finally drove her entirely out of the garden.

LESSON XVII.

_HOW CANARIES LIVE AND SING._

[Illustration]

1. Canary-birds were first found in a warm region, and they can not
live out-of-doors in our country. They have lived so long in cages,
and been taken care of, that now they have lost the power to get their
own living, and, if turned out, would soon starve to death.

2. The canary is one of the sweetest of all the bird singers, and it
is so pretty in its ways, and so clean, that it is more often made a
pet than any other bird. It has a sweet song of its own, but it is
easily taught to sing a great many new notes. The songs of the canary,
as we hear them, are very different from its song when wild.

[Illustration]

3. A canary will often become so tame that it will fly about the room,
come when called, perch on its mistress's finger, and eat out of her
mouth.

4. The canary lays from four to six eggs, and hatches them in about
two weeks. Both father and mother bird take care of the young.

5. In a large cage with two parts, two finches were in one end and two
canaries in the other. The finches hatched out their eggs, but did not
feed their young ones enough. The father canary, hearing their hungry
cries, forced himself between the bars into their part of the cage,
and fed them. This he did every day, till the finches were shamed into
feeding the little ones themselves.

LESSON XVIII.

_A SONG OF SUMMER._

[Illustration]

A cuckoo sat on a tree and sang,
"Summer is coming, coming";
And a bee crept out from the hive and began
Lazily humming, humming.

The frogs, from out the rushes and reeds,
Into the water went splashing;
And the dragon-fly, with his body of green,
Through the flags went flashing, flashing.

The dormouse put out her head and said,
"Really the sun shines brighter";
But the butterfly answered, "Not yet, not yet,"
And folded his wings up tighter.

But the thrush and the blackbird began to sing
Ever sweeter and sweeter,
And the grasshopper chirped, and hopped, and skipped
Ever fleeter and fleeter.

The gnats and the