Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) by Ian
THE WINTER WRENS’ DEW-DROP BATHS
“The winter wren is really with us during the summer too,” said daddy. “But he is too shy to be near us. We can only hear him sing sometimes. When winter comes, though, he goes to people for protection and picks up the crumbs they give him.
“Yesterday he was sitting on a snow-berry bush with a tiny companion. The snow-berry bushes are full and leafy, and in the spring and summer are covered with very tiny pink blossoms. In the autumn and winter they are covered with little berries which look as if they had been made out of snow.
“‘Oh, how I dread the winter!’ said the tiny wren. ‘Just imagine how dreadful it would be if no one put any bread crumbs out for us, or no dog left us some of his dinner on a back porch.’
“‘Now,’ said Mr. Brown Wren, ‘you mustn’t think of such sad thoughts. You always [p.11]do! Someone will look after us. And maybe we’ll find a few spiders now and then in the cracks, and then well have a regular feast.’
“The next day they were back again on the snow-berry bush, and the day was much warmer. Now the wrens love to bathe above all things! Even in the winter they will go through a little sheet of ice and get into the cold, cold water underneath. For they must get their baths! And in the spring, when the tiny wrens are brought forth from their mossy nests, the first lesson they have is of bathing in some nearby brook.
“But this day it was early in the morning, the snow-berry bush was covered with dew-drops and the wrens were delighted.
“‘The sun will drive them away soon. Let’s take them while we get the chance,’ whispered Mr. Brown Wren.
“‘Yes, yes,’ said his small companion. ‘We will soon have to bathe when it is so cold. Let us have a good warm bath first.’
“And then those two little brown wrens took the dew-drops in their beaks, and dropped each one in turn on their feathers. [p.12]Then they got under some leaves full of dew-drops and shook them down over their little feathered bodies.
“After they were well covered with the dew-drops they began to shake all over just as every bird does when he takes a bath. And back they went to take another bath when this one was over. For they seemed to enjoy their last warm bath so much!
“Finally they had bathed enough, and the sun appeared strong as could be, and shining very hard. They perched still on the branches of the snow-berry bush and bathed now in the hot sun. Soon their little feathers were quite dry and they began to sing.
“And truly I think their song was one of gladness because of their dew-drop baths!”
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) by Ian
Lee’s Addition:
My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb. (Deuteronomy 32:2 AMP)
By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3:20 NKJV)
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, (Job 38:28 MSG)
Another Bird Tales
From
Daddy’s Bedtime Bird Stories – Gutenberg ebooks
By
Mary Graham Bonner
With four illustrations in color by
Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis
These stories first appeared in the American Press Association Service and the Western Newspaper Union.
Many of the sketches in this volume are the work of Rebecca McCann, creator of the “Cheerful Cherub,” etc.
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Daddy’s Bedtime Bird Stories by Mary Graham Bonner – 1917
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Links:
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 