"The singers, because they will interest Dodo and Nat the most easily, as they do you. Then we will talk about the birds that only croak and call; then the cannibal birds; next those that coo, and those that scratch for a living. Then we must leave dry land and go close to the water to find the birds that wade; and finally, we must go to the lake or sea itself for the birds that swim and dive." "Why, here's Quick!" cried Nat, as the little fox-terrier came leaping down the lane, tracking them, nose to the ground. "How did you get out of the barn, sir?" "I suspect that Dodo has discovered that we are missing and is looking for us," said the Doctor. "There is the breakfast bell. Do you realize, my lads, that we have been out two hours?" "I often come out early in the morning," said Rap, "so it doesn't seem strange to me." "I'm starving, Uncle Roy," said Nat, "though I am only beginning to feel it." "Think how much worse you would have felt if you had not eaten some bread and milk before you started." "Yes, indeed," said Nat. "Do many sicknesses come from not eating enough?" "Not so many as come from eating too much!" laughed the Doctor. "Won't you come up to breakfast with us, Rap? There is always room at my table, you know, for children who love their Bird Brothers." "I can't," said Rap regretfully; "you see it's Thursday and I have to mind clothes!" There was a merry breakfast party that morning at Orchard Farm; Nat had so much to tell, and the Doctor said he felt twenty years younger after his walk with the boys. A letter had also arrived which made Nat and Dodo very happy; it was from their mother, who said: "We are delighted to hear that the Doctor is going to tell you bird stories this summer. Be sure to ask Olive to tell you all she knows about the flowers too. When we come home this autumn, perhaps your uncle will ask us to the Farm for a visit, and then we shall see your friend Rap." "Uncle, uncle!" cried both the children, "will you ask mother and father to come here for a little? It will be lovely, and--and then we shan't have to go away so soon either." "I have already asked them for a long visit, you little rogues," said the Doctor. "You seem to forget that your mother is my sister, whom I wish very much to see." "And does Olive know all the flowers," chimed in Dodo, "and will you tell us about everything?"