And that really was it. The little birds had built a nest in a low
bush, close to the ground where the children could easily have reached
it if they had seen it. And they were very close to it, though their
eyes had not spied it.
But the birds had seen the Curlytops and, fearing that Jan and Ted
might take out the eggs in the nest, the wise little birds had
pretended to be willing to let the boy and girl catch them instead of
robbing the nest.
Of course, Jan and Ted wouldn't have done such a thing as that! But
the birds, knew no differently. Not all birds act this way--pretending
to be hurt, or that they can't fly--to get people to chase after them,
and so keep far away from the little nests. But this particular kind
of bird always does that.
Some day, if you are in the woods or the fields, and see one bird--or
two--acting in this queer way, as though it could not fly or walk, and
as though it wanted you to hurry after it and try to catch it--if you
see a bird acting that way you may be sure you are near its nest and
eggs and this is the way the bird does to get you away.
"Let's look for their nest," suggested Teddy, when the two birds had
flown far away, back through the woods.
"Oh, no," answered Jan. "We don't want to scare them. Maybe we can
look at the nest of a bird that won't mind if we watch her feeding her
little ones.
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