At that moment the front door of the old manor house again opened, and this time a voice called, “Master Willie, Miss Alice, wherever have you got to?”
At hearing this sudden appeal, Willie dropped his little sister, both because her weight was rather more than he could well support, and because he was afraid that “Nanny” might find out what they were doing. However, as Alice fell on the grass she was not hurt. Willie quickly helped her up, and, as they ran towards the house, the Blackbird heard Willie say, “We won’t tell any one about our nest, will we? It’s a great secret.”
It was some time before the poor bird recovered from his terrible fright. His little heart beat very fast, and when his wife returned, and he told her all about the children’s visit, it was with bated and often-interrupted breath.
That night his sleep was disturbed by very unpleasant dreams. He had visions of numbers of little boys who kept coming to look at his nest, and who pulled the bough down to the ground. Then he saw the eggs rolling out slowly one after the other on to the lawn. And then he would wake with a start to find that after all it was only a dream, and would see the bright moonlight shining on the dewy grass, and hear afar off the hoarse trill of the night-jar, or the boding screech of the great white owl.
All that night he could not help feeling nervous, and he was very glad indeed when the first streaks of dawn became visible in the far east. It was a bright spring morning, and as he and his sprightly little wife hopped nimbly about on the daisy-spangled lawn, ere the dew had disappeared from the little pink and white flowers, and as they here and there picked up a worm or an insect, he felt wonderfully refreshed, indeed by the time he had taken his morning bath, and had plumed his feathers, he was quite himself again.
The thirteen days which now followed were very important ones; for, during that time, our Blackbird’s patient young wife sat almost uninterruptedly upon 38 her nest. She stole away for a few moments to the neighbouring hedgerows for breakfast or dinner; but she was never happy till she was back again to her precious charge.
It was at this time that the Blackbird poured forth his very best music. He had never sung so many nor such varied songs before; now that his partner could not go about with him, he had so much to tell her of his rambles and of course he told it all in song.
He did not always perch on their own bush. He was afraid that if he did so he might attract too much attention, but from the bough of any tree close at hand he cheered her heart with his beautiful melodies.