When they were at home they went to a
kindergarten school, where they learned in the wisest and pleasantest
fashion.

[Illustration: TOM SHOWING THE REDBREAST'S EGGS.
_Page 29._]

The children always looked forward to the half-holidays, when they
either went up to their cousins' home, or Tom and Katey came down to
them.

One Saturday afternoon, when they went to the green, Tom showed them his
collection of birds' eggs. He kept them in shallow boxes full of bran,
so that they should not get broken, for he was very careful over them.

Tom's mother told him never to take more than one egg from each nest,
unless there were a great many, as there are in wrens' nests, so that
the mother bird might not grieve.

"Please show us a robin redbreast's egg," said little Annie.

Tom took two or three from under the bran, and showed her the eggs,
which were yellowish-gray mottled with red-brown.

"Mrs. Redbreast has not nearly so red a breast as Robin," he said.

"I suppose you have plenty of sparrows' eggs," said Mary, "they are such
common birds."

"Yes; here they are. They are rather large for the size of the bird;
they are spotted and streaked all over with gray and brown."

"What a lovely pale greenish-blue egg that is!" exclaimed Mary.

"Yes, that it is," said Tom; "and it belongs to a dear little brown
bird--the hedge-sparrow. It is not at all the same kind of bird as the
house-sparrow, for it is one of the warblers. It is a prettier bird, and
has prettier eggs than the common sparrow. He builds his nest very
early, before the hedges are covered with leaves; so his nest often gets
stolen. He is one of the birds that stay in England all through the
winter.--These speckled eggs of a bluish-gray belong to the linnet,
which has a very sweet song, although not very powerful.--These belong
to the chaffinch; they, you see, are greenish-purple spotted with
brown. See here! I have a nest made by this bird."

"It is perfectly lovely," said Mary.

"It is, indeed; it is one of the most beautiful of all the birds'
nests--such a nice round shape, and so firm that it does not easily fall
to pieces. Inside it is lined with hair and feathers, and downy things,
which make it ever so soft. Just put your finger inside, Annie, and feel
it. Outside it is made of moss, fine dry grass, and wool, all matted
together, and covered all over with the lichen which grows on the trunks
and branches of trees. It is often very difficult to find