He was very fond of the nice sweet cakes she got to eat, but she never could get him to eat coffee grounds—­the food she liked best.

Miss Laura spoke to Carl about Bella, and told him he had hurt her feelings, so he petted her a little to make up for it.  Then his mother told him that she thought he was making a mistake in keeping his canaries so much to themselves.  They had become so timid, that when she went into the room they were uneasy till she left it.  She told him that petted birds or animals are sociable and like company, unless they are kept by themselves, when they become shy.  She advised him to let the other boys go into the room, and occasionally to bring some of his pretty singers downstairs, where all the family could enjoy seeing and hearing them, and where they would get used to other people besides himself.

Carl looked thoughtful, and his mother went on to say that there was no one in the house, not even the cat, that would harm his birds.

“You might even charge admission for a day or two,” said Jack, gravely, “and introduce us to them, and make a little money.”

Carl was rather annoyed at this, but his mother calmed him by showing him a letter she had just gotten from one of her brothers, asking her to let one of her boys spend his Christmas holidays in the country with him.

“I want you to go, Carl,” she said.

He was very much pleased, but looked sober when he thought of his pets.  “Laura and I will take care of them,” said his mother, “and start the new management of them.”

“Very well,” said Carl, “I will go then; I’ve no young ones now, so you will not find them much trouble.”

I thought it was a great deal of trouble to take care of them.  The first morning after Carl left, Billy, and Bella, and Davy, and I followed Miss Laura upstairs.  She made us sit in a row by the door, lest we should startle the canaries.  She had a great many things to do.  First, the canaries had their baths.  They had to get them at the same time every morning.  Miss Laura filled the little white dishes with water and put them in the cages, and then came and sat on a stool by the door.  Bella, and Billy, and Davy climbed into her lap, and I stood close by her.  It was so funny to watch those canaries.  They put their heads on one side and looked first at their little baths and then at us.  They knew we were strangers.  Finally, as we were all very quiet, they got into the water; and what a good time they had, fluttering their wings and splashing, and cleaning themselves so nicely.

Then they got up on their perches and sat in the sun, shaking themselves and picking at their feathers.

Miss Laura cleaned each cage, and gave each bird some mixed rape and canary seed.  I heard Carl tell her before he left not to give them much hemp seed, for that was too fattening.  He was very careful about their food.  During the summer I had often seen him taking up nice green things to them:  celery, chickweed, tender cabbage, peaches, apples, pears, bananas; and now at Christmas time, he had green stuff growing in pots on the window ledge.