Now his keen eyes see the worm at his door! In goes his sharp bill! He pulls like a good fellow! He is hungry. He wants his breakfast. The worm holds fast by his hooks. The bird braces his feet and his tail, and tugs hard. Out comes the worm to feed Mr. Bird.[13]
The bird shows great skill in the way he pulls the worm out of the hole. He does not break off even one little bit of his soft body. No boy could get him out in that way.
Some say that the worm lies by his door at sunrise for warmth. I do not think that is so. I think what he likes is the fresh dew. He loves dampness. He fears cold, but he also dies of heat.
Any worm will die in one day in dry air, but some kinds of worms will live for weeks quite down under water. He needs an even, moist warmth. His home must not be hot, nor cold, nor dry.
Little young worms know how to dig houses, make worm-casts, carry out the soil, find food, and plug up the door of their houses. They know at once all that old worms do. But then worm houses do not require as much skill as bee or wasp houses.
The seaside worms make the prettiest houses. On shells, stone, wood, or wound alone in a lump, you will find their tubes. They are white and as hard as shell. Inside they are pink or blue.
These tubes curve and twist about, as the worm went that built them. Some are very pretty. There is a soft kind of tube made of sand and bits of shell, stone, and weed. The sand and weed are held together by a kind of glue. The worm makes this glue in its mouth.
I have some tubes very clear and white. You can see the lines where the worm went when he built them, ring by ring. Some of these tubes are so small you can just run a fine needle into them. Some are as large as a straw, and some as large as a fine fat earth-worm.
Now you see how much is to be learned, even of such a small humble thing as a worm. Think how much even such a weak creature can do!
There is much more to be found out about worms, which I hope you will be glad to learn for yourselves.