After years of hard work, he made paintings of nearly a thousand birds.  That was almost enough for his books.  But, while he was traveling, two large rats got into the box in which he kept his pictures.  They cut up all his paintings with their teeth, and made a nest of the pieces.  This almost broke his heart for a while.  For many nights he could not sleep, because he had lost all his work.

But he did not give up.  After some days he took his gun, and went into the woods.  He said to himself, “I will begin over again.  I can make better paintings than those that the rats spoiled.”  But it took him four long years and a half to find the birds, and make the pictures again.

He was so careful to have his drawings just like the birds, that he would measure them in every way.  Thus he made his pictures just the size of the birds themselves.

At last the great books were printed.  In this country, in France, and in England, people praised the won-der-ful books.  They knew that Au-du-bon was indeed a great man.

AUDUBON IN THE WILD WOODS.

When Au-du-bon was making his great book about birds, he had to live much in the woods.  Sometimes he lived among the Indians.  He once saw an Indian go into a hollow tree.  There was a bear in the tree.  The Indian had a knife in his hand.  He fought with the bear in the tree, and killed it.

Au-du-bon could shoot very well.  A friend of his one day threw up his cap in the air.  He told Au-du-bon to shoot at it.  When the cap came down, it had a hole in it.

But the hunters who lived in the woods could shoot better.  They would light a candle.  Then one of the hunters would take his gun, and go a hundred steps away from the candle.  He would then shoot at the candle.  He would shoot so as to snuff it.  He would not put out the candle.  He would only cut off a bit of the wick with the bullet.  But he would leave the candle burning.

[Illustration:  Snuffing the Candle.]

Once Audubon came near being killed by some robbers.  He stopped at a cabin where lived an old white woman.  He found a young Indian in the house.  The Indian had hurt himself with an arrow.  He had come to the house to spend the night.

The old woman saw Audubon’s fine gold watch.  She asked him to let her look at it.  He put it into her hands for a minute.  Then the Indian passed by Audubon, and pinched him two or three times.  That was to let him know that the woman was bad, and that she might rob him.

Audubon went and lay down with his hand on his gun.  After a while two men came in.  They were the sons of the old woman.  Then the old woman sharpened a large knife.  She told the young men to kill the Indian first, and then to kill Audubon and take his watch.  She thought that Audubon was asleep.  But he drew up his gun ready to fire.

Just then two hunters came to the cabin.  Audubon told them what the robbers were going to do.  They took the old woman and her sons, and tied their hands and feet.  The Indian, though he was in pain from his hurt, danced for joy when he saw that the robbers were caught.  The woman and her sons were afterward punished.