at this boy was learning to fly--or rather to
walk. He mentioned this to his mate and when he told her that the Eggs
would probably conduct themselves in the same way after they were
fledged she was quite comforted and even became eagerly interested and
derived great pleasure from watching the boy over the edge of her
nest--though she always thought that the Eggs would be much cleverer and
learn more quickly. But then she said indulgently that humans were
always more clumsy and slow than Eggs and most of them never seemed
really to learn to fly at all. You never met them in the air or on
tree-tops.

After a while the boy began to move about as the others did, but all
three of the children at times did unusual things. They would stand
under the trees and move their arms and legs and heads about in a way
which was neither walking nor running nor sitting down. They went
through these movements at intervals every day and the robin was never
able to explain to his mate what they were doing or trying to do. He
could only say that he was sure that the Eggs would never flap about in
such a manner; but as the boy who could speak robin so fluently was
doing the thing with them, birds could be quite sure that the actions
were not of a dangerous nature. Of course neither the robin nor his mate
had ever heard of the champion wrestler, Bob Haworth, and his exercises
for making the muscles stand out like lumps. Robins are not like human
beings; their muscles are always exercised from the first and so they
develop themselves in a natural manner. If you have to fly about to find
every meal you eat, your muscles do not become atrophied (atrophied
means wasted away through want of use).

When the boy was walking and running about and digging and weeding like
the others, the nest in the corner was brooded over by a great peace and
content. Fears for the Eggs became things of the past. Knowing that your
Eggs were as safe as if they were locked in a bank vault and the fact
that you could watch so many curious things going on made setting a most
entertaining occupation. On wet days the Eggs' mother sometimes felt
even a little dull because the children did not come into the garden.

But even on wet days it could not be said that Mary and Colin were dull.
One morning when the rain streamed down unceasingly and Colin was
beginning to feel a little restive, as he was obliged to remain on his
sofa because it was not safe to get up and walk abou