"The chipmunk stopped on a branch over his head. He sat there and chattered. Grandmother said he was laughing.
"She told me he was saying, 'You can't come up, Wag-wag. You can't come up. You don't know how to climb. I am safe!'"
"Perhaps he was saying that," said father. "Now here are the bones."
"Oh, I see," said Polly. "They have meat and fat on them. That is for the birds. They need not try to eat bones."
"Yes, and here is grass seed. Some birds would rather have that. And here is cracked corn, too. It is for the larger birds."
He put the grass seed into small baskets. He did the same with the corn.
"Now we are ready," he said. "You help me carry these things out. I will come back for the stepladder."
Soon father had tied the bones to the trees. He put them on the small branches. He tied them so that the birds could get at them easily. The birds could perch on the branches and peck at the meat.
He said, "I will not tie them to large branches. Some cat might walk out and catch our birds."
Then he fastened up the baskets. He fastened them tightly. They could not swing. The birds could perch upon the edge and eat the seeds and the corn.