At the Bird Market in Paris charming little nests are sold, woven of rushes on spokes of brown twigs, in the shape of an Indian tepee. They are intended for caged birds, who cannot build their own nests of sticks and grass and horsehair from the fields and wayside. Some free birds like them, too--wrens, for example. A boy or girl who has made the mat and basket and doll's furniture will have no difficulty in weaving one of these nests. Then there will be the delight of hanging it in a tree (not too near the house) and watching to see what bird will choose it when nesting time comes. [Illustration: FIG. 20] Let us weave a nest that shall be light and yet firm. Spokes of rattan will give it strength and weavers of raffia will make it soft and comfortable. Two groups of spokes, one of four and the other of four and a half, are crossed at the centre, bound three times with a strand of raffia and woven into a bottom an inch and a half across. Another weaver is then added and an inch of pairing is made. Pairing, or _bam tush_, as the Indians call it, is a simple stitch. Two weavers are started, each one behind a spoke (see Fig. 20). The one on the left is brought over the first spoke, under the next and down in front. It is now the turn of the second weaver, which also passes over the first spoke on its right, under the next and outside, where it is held down in front while the other weaver repeats the process. So it goes on around the nest. The spokes are then wet so that the bottom may be formed into a bowl shape, with sides rounding up from the very centre. A row of pairing in No. 2 rattan is next woven to hold the slippery raffia in place. This is followed by five-eighths of an inch of raffia woven in pairing, the sides still being flared. Two rows of pairing in No. 2 rattan are then woven, drawing the spokes in very slightly. At this point, which is the widest, the nest should measure eleven inches around the top. A row of under and over weaving is started, and at the place which has been chosen for the doorway the weaver is doubled back on a spoke and woven from right to left until it comes to the second spoke to the right of the one it first doubled around. It is brought around this spoke, thus making the beginning of a doorway, which has an unused spoke in the centre of it. The weaver then returns to the spoke it first doubled around, where it doubles back again. This is repeated until the doorway is an inch and a quarter high. Two rows of pairing in No. 2 rattan are then woven all the way around, forming a firm top for the doorway, where they cross it. The spokes are drawn in closer and closer with rows of pairing in raffia, until, when an inch and a half has been woven, they meet at the top. The ends of the spokes are left uneven lengths and bound around with a strand of raffia threaded through a tapestry needle.