not feel it so much, if you'd stay to cheer me up a little an'
post me on the weather. Hate the doggondest to own I'm worsted,
an' if you say it's stay, b'lieve I'll try it. Very sight o' you
kinder warms the cockles o' my heart all up, an' every skip you
take sets me a-wantin' to be jumpin', too.

"What on earth are you lookin' for? Man! I b'lieve it's grub!
Somebody's been feedin' you! An' you want me to keep it up?
Well, you struck it all right, Mr. Redbird. Feed you? You bet I
will! You needn't even 'rastle for grubs if you don't want to.
Like as not you're feelin' hungry right now, pickin' bein' so
slim these airly days. Land's sake! I hope you don't feel
you've come too soon. I'll fetch you everything on the place
it's likely a redbird ever teched, airly in the mornin' if you'll
say you'll stay an' wave your torch 'long my river bank this
summer. I haven't a scrap about me now. Yes, I have, too!
Here's a handful o' corn I was takin' to the banty rooster; but
shucks! he's fat as a young shoat now. Corn's a leetle big an'
hard for you. Mebby I can split it up a mite."

Abram took out his jack-knife, and dotting a row of grains along
the top rail, he split and shaved them down as fine as possible;
and as he reached one end of the rail, the Cardinal, with a
spasmodic "Chip!" dashed down and snatched a particle from the
other, and flashed back to the bush, tested, approved, and
chipped his thanks.

"Pshaw now!" said Abram, staring wide-eyed. "Doesn't that beat
you? So you really are a pet? Best kind of a pet in the whole
world, too! Makin' everybody, at sees you happy, an' havin' some