ough the principle is always the same. It is always growth,
always the life within, forcing itself out to take form, and it is
only the forms that change. The life and force within are the same
that the first single cell had."

"It is very wonderful, mamma," Elsie said, awed by the mystery, even
though she was very far from grasping the whole of it. "And the birds,
mamma, have they stamens, and eggs inside? I thought their eggs were
outside, in a little nest. And some of them are, mumsey, because, you
know, I have seen them lots of times."

"Yes, the eggs come out where you can see them, in time, as the frog's
do, but at first they are inside the mother bird, as they are with the
frogs and all animals. Only, it is not with the birds as it is with
the frogs, for the bird's eggs must be fertilized by the male
zoosperms while they are still within the mother bird. The zoosperms
must enter the ovary as the pollen must enter the ovary of the plant.
So the male bird, like most male animals, has a stamen which is a
repetition of that of the flower, made of such a shape that it can
reach the eggs in the mother bird's ovary and fertilize them there.
Then they come out, they are 'laid' as we say, and we see them in the
nest which the mother and father birds have prepared for them. And
just as the seeds need to be covered and kept warm, when they have
fallen from the ripe pods to the ground, in order that they may live
and grow into baby plants, so the bird's eggs must be covered and kept
warm and safe in order that they may grow into birdies. It is just
here that you may see where the honey of the plants begins to become
love in the higher species. For instead of leaving the eggs to be
protected or not, according to chance, as is the way of the plants,
the mother bird covers and warms and protects them herself. She sits
on the nest and keeps them safe with her own body and feathers. Isn't
that lovely! And the father bird goes to market in the woods and
fields and brings her the daintiest and best food he can find."

"Isn't he _nice!_" said Elsie appreciatively.

"Yes, he is nice, and so is his wife, the mother bird. Just think! A
bird is the most energetic and tireless creature in all animated
nature. It is always on the move, urged by the force and overflowing
life within its body, and to sit there quietly all alone on the eggs
day after day and night after night--oh, it must be hard, so hard that
we can scarcely realize the