hem and slanted down
into the rain gutter-pipes. The sparrows, being at home there,
twittered and hopped about quite without fear. Two of them perched on
the chimney top nearest and quarrelled with each other fiercely until
one pecked the other and drove him away. The garret window next to
theirs was shut because the house next door was empty.

"I wish someone lived there," Sara said. "It is so close that if there
was a little girl in the attic, we could talk to each other through the
windows and climb over to see each other, if we were not afraid of
falling."

The sky seemed so much nearer than when one saw it from the street,
that Lottie was enchanted. From the attic window, among the chimney
pots, the things which were happening in the world below seemed almost
unreal. One scarcely believed in the existence of Miss Minchin and
Miss Amelia and the schoolroom, and the roll of wheels in the square
seemed a sound belonging to another existence.

"Oh, Sara!" cried Lottie, cuddling in her guarding arm. "I like this
attic--I like it! It is nicer than downstairs!"

"Look at that sparrow," whispered Sara. "I wish I had some crumbs to
throw to him."

"I have some!" came in a little shriek from Lottie. "I have part of a
bun in my pocket; I bought it with my penny yesterday, and I saved a
bit."

When they threw out a few crumbs the sparrow jumped and flew away to an
adjacent chimney top. He was evidently not accustomed to intimates in
attics, and unexpected crumbs startled him. But when Lottie remained
quite still and Sara chirped very softly--almost as if she were a
sparrow herself--he saw that the thing which had alarmed him
represented hospitality, after all. He put his head on one side, and
from his perch on the chimney looked down at the crumbs with twinkling
eyes. Lottie could scarcely keep still.

"Will he come? Will he come?" she whispered.

"His eyes look as if he would," Sara whispered back. "He is thinking
and thinking whether he dare. Yes, he will! Yes, he is coming!"

He flew down and hopped toward the crumbs, but stopped a few inches
away from them, putting his head on one side again, as if reflecting on
the chances that Sara and Lottie might turn out to be big cats and jump
on him. At last his heart told him they were really nicer than they
looked, and he hopped nearer and nearer, darted at the biggest crumb
with a lightning peck, seized it, and carried it away to the other side
of his