"He's here, he's here!" Andrea shouted, almost losing his balance in his
excitement, but he saved himself in time to put a bit of cracked wheat into
the wide-open mouth. It was greedily swallowed and the open bill demanded
more. This performance was repeated until the boy's supply was exhausted.
Then the bill was withdrawn, and Chico disappeared from view. But between
the boy and the bird had been established a bond that would never be
broken. From that time on, Chico was his pigeon in every sense of the word,
and, at Andrea's first call, the greedy bill would immediately appear.

So it went on, until one bright morning, when the children turned the
corner of the church, they found Chico, perched on the window ledge, faking
a sun-bath and waiting for his friends.

My! what excitement there was! Andrea could scarcely wait to climb up on
the box, and was delighted when Chico cocked his head on one side and
actually permitted his caresses.

"Bambino!" murmured Maria; "dear little baby bird. Oh, see! he's actually
getting feathers!"

It was true, the soft down with which he was covered in some places was
beginning to give way to the first pin feathers, his bill did not seem
so awkwardly large, and the soft, shapeless body already showed signs of
developing future grace.

After this Chico was always waiting for the children, and would cock his
head on one side when he saw them coming, uttering little squeaky noises
that did not sound in the least like cooing. All the time his feathers were
growing and his wings becoming stronger.