First he puts his head into the water. He splashes around and has a good time in the water. After he has had a bath, he sits in the sun and dries himself. When he is dry, he sits on the swing. He has a good time swinging himself. We like to watch him swing. He seems to enjoy himself so much. Cleaning the Canary’s Cage We clean the bird’s cage every day. First my mother takes down the cage. She lifts it off the hook. She carries the cage to the kitchen. The top is fastened to the bottom with hooks or catches. Mother unfastens the hooks. Then she lifts off the top. The canary hops upon the swing. Sometimes he flies around the room. But he always comes back to the cage. My mother removes the paper from the bottom of the cage. Next, she gets some newspaper. She cuts it to fit the cage. [Illustration: Woman and kid at table] She always puts fresh sand on the bottom of the cage. She cleans the bird’s dishes, too. She puts fresh water into one dish. She puts seed into the other dish. Then she hangs the cage on the hook near the window. My Grandmother’s Canary My grandmother has five pet canaries. She keeps them in cages. One day one of her birds became frightened. He flew up and struck his head against the top of the cage. Then he fell down dead. This bird was my grandmother’s best singer. She felt very sorry to lose him. She was sad when he died. Now she has another singer in his place. And grandmother is happy again. [Illustration: Wild Birds] Bird Trades The swallow is a mason, And underneath the eaves He builds a nest, and plasters it With mud and hay and leaves. Of all the weavers that I know, The oriole is the best; High on the branches of the tree She hangs her cosy nest. The woodpecker is hard at work— A carpenter is he— And you may hear him hammering His nest high up a tree. Some little birds are miners, Some build upon the ground, And busy little tailors, too, Among the birds are found. [Illustration: Birds in tree] Mother Robin One spring day I was playing out-of-doors. I noticed a mother robin near by. She had two baby robins in a nest near our porch. The nest was up in a maple tree. While I was watching, the mother bird flew to the fence. She picked up a worm. Then she flew back to the nest. The baby birds opened their hungry mouths very wide. Mother Robin gave the worm to the baby robins. They ate the worm, and said “Peep, peep.” The Bird with a Broken Wing