uld print pictures of the birds, just as large as the birds
them-selves. He meant to have them look just like the birds.

To do this he must travel many thousands of miles. He must live for
years almost all of the time in the woods. He would have to find and
shoot the birds, in order to make pictures of them. And he must see
how the birds lived, and how they built their nests, so that he could
tell all about them. It would take a great deal of work and trouble.
But he was not afraid of trouble.

That was many years ago. Much of our country was then covered with
great trees. Au-du-bon sometimes went in a boat down a lone-some
river. Sometimes he rode on horse-back. Often he had to travel on foot
through woods where there were no roads. Many a time he had to sleep
out of doors.

He lost his money and became poor. Sometimes he had to paint portraits
to get money to live on. Once he turned dancing master for a while.
But he did not give up his great idea. He still studied birds, and
worked to make his books about American birds. His wife went to
teaching to help make a living.

After years of hard work, he made paintings of nearly a thousand
birds. That was almost enough for his books. But, while he was
traveling, two large rats got into the box in which he kept his
pictures. They cut up all his paintings with their teeth, and made a
nest of the pieces. This almost broke his heart for a while. For many
nights he could not sleep, because he had lost all his work.

But he did not give up. After some days he took his gun, and went into
the woods. He said to himself, "I will begin over again. I can make
better paintings than those that the rats spoiled." But it took him
four long years and a half to find the birds, and make the
pictures again.

He was so careful to have his drawings just like the birds, that he
would measure them in every way. Thus he made his pictures just the
size of the birds themselves.

At last the great books were printed. In this country, in France, and
in England, people praised the won-der-ful books. They knew that
Au-du-bon was indeed a great man.

AUDUBON IN THE WILD WOODS.

When Au-du-bon was making his great book about birds, he had to live
much in the woods. Sometimes he lived among the Indians. He once saw
an Indian go into a hollow tree. There was a bear in the tree. The
Indian had a knife in his hand. He fought with the bear in the tree,
and killed it.

Au-du-bon could