So they flew to where the basket hung among the thick leaves of the
tree, which had served to prevent the men from discovering it, and
crept underneath the cloth that covered it.

"Which do you think they'd like best," asked Chubbins, "the pickles or
the cheese?"

"Neither one," Twinkle replied. "The sandwiches will be best for them.
Wait; I'll pick out some of the meat that is between the slices of
bread. They'll be sure to like that."

"Of course," agreed Chubbins, promptly. "They'll think it's bugs."

So each one dragged out a big piece of meat from a sandwich, and by
holding it fast in one claw they managed to fly with the burden to the
nest of the goldfinch babies.

"Don't give it to 'em all at once," cautioned the girl. "It would choke
'em."

"I know," said Chubbins.

He tore off a tiny bit of the meat and dropped it into one of the
wide-open bills. Instantly it was gone and the mouth was open again for
more. They tried to divide the dinner equally among them, but they all
looked so alike and were so ravenous to eat everything that was dropped
into their bills that it was hard work to keep track of which had been
fed and which had not. But the child-larks were positive that each one
had had enough to keep it from starving, because there was a big bunch
in front of each little breast that was a certain proof of a full crop.

The next task of the guardians was to give the birdlets drink; so
Twinkle and Chubbins flew to the brook and by hunting around a while
they found an acorn-cup that had fallen from one of the oak trees. This
they filled with water, and then Twinkle, who was a trifle larger than
the boy-lark, clutched the cup firmly with her toes and flew back to
the orphans without spilling more than a few drops. They managed to
pour some of the water into each open mouth, and then Twinkle said:

"There! they won't die of either hunger or thirst in a hurry, Chub. So
now we can feed ourselves."

"Their mouths are still open," returned the boy, doubtfully.

"It must be a habit they have," she answered. "Wouldn't you think
they'd get tired stretching their bills that way?"

"Peep! peep! peep!" cried the baby goldfinches.

"You see," said the boy, with a wise look, "they don't know any better.
I had a dog once that howled every time we shut him up. But if we let
him alone he stopped howling. We'll go and get something to eat and let
these beggars alone a while. Perhaps they'll shut their mouths by