And
as a token of our affection your name shall be
used by poets as long as the world shall last to
rhyme with LOVE.''
THE BUSY BLUE JAY
BY OLIVE THORNE MILLER (ADAPTED)
One of the most interesting birds who ever lived
in my Bird Room was a blue jay named Jakie.
He was full of business from morning till night,
scarcely ever a moment still.
Poor little fellow! He had been stolen from the
nest before he could fly, and reared in a house,
long before he was given to me. Of course he
could not be set free, for he did not know how to
take care of himself.
Jays are very active birds, and being shut up in
a room, my blue jay had to find things to do, to
keep himself busy. If he had been allowed to
grow up out of doors, he would have found plenty
to do, planting acorns and nuts, nesting, and
bringing up families.
Sometimes the things he did in the house were
what we call mischief because they annoy us, such
as hammering the woodwork to pieces, tearing
bits out of the leaves of books, working holes
in chair seats, or pounding a cardboard box to
pieces. But how is a poor little bird to know what
is mischief?
Many things which Jakie did were very funny.
For instance, he made it his business to clear up
the room. When he had more food than he could
eat at the moment, he did not leave it around, but
put it away carefully,--not in the garbage pail,
for that was not in the room, but in some safe
nook where it did not offend the eye.
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