OCR Text |
Show Sparrows Tie Up a Clock. It is an old and rather exaggerated assertion that some people are "ugly enough to stop a clock." While this remains re-mains to be proved it is an established fact that the ingenious little sparrow has performed the f oat. The town clock at Sarnia, Ont., stopped the other morning morn-ing and a man on going 'to ascertain the cause, found that the hands had been securely tied down by strands of twine and grass. The mischief had been done by a pair of English sparrows, who had selected the angle formed by the hands as a site for a nest. The movements of the hands interfered with their plans, and the birds put their wits to work to devise a remedy that would secure the stability of the nest. Their first scheme was to wind the shaft on which the hands are pivoted round and round with grass and cords. That failing, they tied the hands to each other and to the framework in such a manner that it took considerable time and a great deal of labor to remove the obstructions. The engineering skill displayed dis-played bv the birds in accomplishing their object showed that they possessed reasoning power of no mean order, besides be-sides an amount of industry and perseverance perse-verance in gathering the material within the few hours at their disposal .that is almost incredible. |