, and he had about made up his mind
that he would have to content himself with just listening to that sweet
singer when the latter flew over in the Old Orchard and alighted just
over Peter's head. "Hello, Peter!" he cried.

"Hello, Linnet!" cried Peter. "I was wondering who it could be who was
singing like that. I ought to have known, but you see it's so long since
I've heard you sing that I couldn't just remember your song. I'm so glad
you came over here for I'm just dying to talk to somebody."

Linnet the Purple Finch, for this is who it was, laughed right out. "I
see you're still the same old Peter," said he. "I suppose you're just
as full of curiosity as ever and just as full of questions. Well, here I
am, so what shall we talk about?"

"You," replied Peter bluntly. "Lately I've found out so many surprising
things about my feathered friends that I want to know more. I'm trying
to get it straight in my head who is related to who, and I've found out
some things which have begun to make me feel that I know very little
about my feathered neighbors. It's getting so that I don't dare to even
guess who a person's relatives are. If you please, Linnet, what family
do you belong to?"

Linnet flew down a little nearer to Peter. "Look me over, Peter," said
he with twinkling eyes. "Look me over and see if you can't tell for
yourself."

Peter stared solemnly at Linnet. He saw a bird of Sparrow size most of
whose body was a rose-red, brightest on the head, darkest on the back,
and palest on the breast. Underneath he was whitish.

His wings and tail were brownish, the outer parts of the feathers edged
with rose-red. His bill was short and stout.

Before Peter could reply, Mrs. Linnet appeared. There wasn't so much as
a touch of that beautiful rose-red about her. Her grayish-brown back
was streaked with black, and her white breast and sides were spotted and
streaked with brown. If Peter hadn't seen her with Linnet he certainly
would have taken her for a Sparrow. She looked so much like one that he
ventured to say, "I guess you belong to the Sparrow family."

"That's pretty close, Peter. That's pretty close," declared Linnet. "We
belong to the Finch branch of the family, which makes the sparrows own
cousins to us. Folks may get Mrs. Linnet mixed with some of our Sparrow
cousins, but they never can mistake me. There isn't anybody else my size
with a rose-red coat like mine. If you can't remember my song, which you
ought to, b