“One delightful morning, after having supplied the wants of our family, we set out together. We were allured by the charms of the weather, further than we intended. I being the soonest tired, wished to rest on an adjacent hedge: my mate followed, and had nearly overtaken me, when my cries warned him not to approach he fatal spot; for, to my utter astonishment and dismay, I found myself held, as it were by magic, and unable to raise my feet. When my first surprise was abated, I discovered that it was owing to a glutinous substance which was spread on the branch I had sought to rest upon, and from which I vainly strove to disengage myself. My poor mate, finding that he could not effect my release from this cruel snare, (for such in reality it was,) wished to remain with me and share my fate; but I besought him, in the most earnest and pathetic terms, to consider our helpless little ones, who must certainly perish, if he, their only protector, abandoned them. My entreaties had the desired effect; for, after some hesitation, he consented to go and feed them, promising to fly back quickly, in order, if possible, to ascertain my fate. “Ah! what a dreadful moment was that of our separation. It seemed as if we were never to meet again; and the event but too well justified the forebodings of my despair, for, shortly after, two boys came to the hedge, and gently extricated me from the spray, rejoicing at the success of their plan, and reckoning the amount of what they expected to gain by disposing of me. I was a little consoled at finding they did not intend keeping me themselves; for what could I have expected from such cruel boys, or how could I have borne the sight of those, who, in a single moment, had destroyed all my happiness. “They walked on together till we came to a large town, where entering a shop, in which were birds of various kinds in cages, they offered me for sale. The dealer’s proposals, however, came very far short of their expectations; for being a hen bird, my song was held in little estimation. The boys were almost inclined to keep me, but the shopkeeper making a trifling advance in his offer, the bargain was closed, and I established in a situation entirely new to me, but which proved more tolerable than I had imagined it could have done. Comforts I had none but food and cleanliness. Indeed, such was my dejection when I remembered my late happiness, that I should not have been susceptible of any enjoyment short of restoration to my family.