in the sweet little chant that we all know so well:

[Illustration: Spring Soon]

Another would take it up and re-echo:

[Illustration: Spring coming]

and they would answer and repeat the song until the dreary woods rang
again with the good news, and people learned to love the brave little
Bird that sets his face so cheerfully to meet so hard a case. But to
this day, when the chill wind blows through the deserted woods, the
Chickadees seem to lose their wits for a few days, and dart into all
sorts of odd and dangerous places. They may then be found in great
cities, or open prairies, cellars, chimneys, and hollow logs; and the
next time you find one of the wanderers in any such place, be sure to
remember that Tomtit goes crazy once a year, and probably went into his
strange retreat in search of the Gulf of Mexico.

THE END