caught sight of a little piece of red silk hanging from a nail over his head. "Thought he'd got it hid away safely, didn't he?" and in a twinkling he had hopped up and caught the ribbon securely in his beak.
"Now for a little fresh air," said the sparrow; "I couldn't stand it much longer."
He looked around for the entrance to the passage-way. There were three holes just alike; which was the right one? He stood perplexed. "What a fool I was," he said to himself, "not to take more notice! This is a pretty fix! Well, here goes! I'll try each one, and one of them must lead out." So he hopped up to the hole nearest him and boldly entered. It was utterly dark, and he felt his way for a time in silence; but the sparrow, who lived out in the pure air, was not accustomed to the close and musty atmosphere of an old rat-hole, and he began to feel faint and a little bewil-
