I once knew a man who was rich in his love for birds, and in their love for him . He lived in a grove full of all kinds of trees. He had no wife or children in his home. He was an old man with blue and kind eyes, and a voice that the birds loved. While he was at work in the grove, the birds came close to pick up the worms  in the fresh earth he dug up. At first, they kept their distance from him, but they soon found he was a kind man, and would not hurt them, but liked to have them near him. They knew this by his kind eyes and voice, which tell what is in the heart. So, day by day their _ in his love grew in them. All the birds of the grove were soon his fast friends. They were on the watch for him, and would fly down from the green tree tops to greet him with their chirp . When he had no work to do, he took bread with him, and dropped the pieces on the ground. Down they would dart  on his head and feet to catch them as they fell from his hand. He showed me how they loved him, He put a piece of bread in his mouth, with one end of it out of his lips, Down they came like bees at a flower, and flew off with it piece by piece, When they thought he slept too long in the morning, they would fly in and _ . They went with him to church, and while he sang his hymns in it, they sat in the trees, and sang their praises. So the love and trust of birds were a joy to the old man all his life long. Which of the following is the best expression to fill in the blank in the passage?
follow him here and there call him up with their chirp drop pieces of bread on him look for worms in the house