A bird pursued.
The net was a round net, the mouth of it being kept open by means of a hoop. It was fastened to the end of a long pole. Ralph crept up softly toward the place where the bird had alighted, and, when he was near enough, he extended the pole, and clapped the net down over the bird, and made it prisoner.
Caught and caged.
“I’ve caught him! I’ve caught him!” said Ralph, greatly excited. “Run, Eddy, and get the cage. Run quick. No, stop; you come here, and hold the net down, and I’ll go and get the cage myself.”
So Eddy held the net down, while Ralph went into the tool-house after the cage. He succeeded in putting the bird into the cage safely, and then went home.
The feeding.
Ralph attended his bird very carefully for many days, feeding him with strawberries and crumbs of bread. The natural food of most small birds consists of seeds, berries, and insects. Ralph knew, therefore, that strawberries would be good for his bird, and as for bread, he reflected that it was made from seeds, namely, the seeds of wheat. The only difference was, that in bread the seeds were ground up, mixed with water, and baked. So Ralph concluded that bread would be a very proper food for his robin.
Ralph taming the robin.
The stile.