for a vacant house."

"Looking for a vacant house?" cried Phyllis, with wide brown eyes.

"For housekeeping," said the chickadee. "You see my mate and I had
never kept house before. She was very anxious to find a most suitable
place.

"My wife said a woodpecker's nest was the very place, but I rather
preferred a squirrel's hole.

"For a long time we could find neither to suit us. But at length I
heard Mrs. Chickadee calling loudly. I flew to her side at once.

"'What is it?' I cried.

"'Look!' cried Mrs. Chickadee, pointing with her bill and flapping her
wings with joy.

"Through the thick of the woods ran a gray old rail fence. Woodbine
and wild hop vines wellnigh covered it. The posts were gray where they
were not moss-covered.

"In one of these gray-green posts was a hole where a pair of
woodpeckers had once built their nest.

"'This is the very place for us!' cried Mrs. Chickadee. 'It could not
be better though we hollowed it out for ourselves.'"

"Could you?" asked Phyllis, looking at the bird's little short black
bill.

"If need be, we could, indeed," replied the chickadee. "But we would
far rather find a knot-hole, or a squirrel's or woodpecker's deserted
nest.

"When we had decided on the spot," the bird went on, "we at once began
lining the nest. We carried fine grasses and soft feathers. We found
mosses and rabbits' fur to make it soft.

"Those were indeed happy days for us. They were also exciting days.
We were very careful to let no one know what we were about.

"Once, as I flew home with a bit of moss, I saw a boy lying on the
grass not far from our fence-post. It would never do to let him know
our secret. Boys are not to be trusted.

"I perched upon the fence and pretended that I had never a thought of
nest building.

"In a moment Mrs. Chickadee came flying home with a soft, downy
feather. When I called out warningly she at once flew to me.

"Then the boy called softly to his little sister.

"'Come quick,' he said, 'if you want to watch these birds build their
nest.'

"A little dark-eyed girl crept up beside the boy. We scarcely knew
what to do. Soon a bright idea occurred to me. I began to sing my
very best. I also performed my most wonderful tricks. I whirled round
and round. I darted between the rails. I spun about.

"The children became so interested in my performance that they forgot
to watch Mrs. Chickadee. When they were not looking her way, she flew