"that is what people always say," answered mrs. mourning dove, with a happy coo, "and i fear that i am a rather poor housekeeper, but it runs in our family. mr. mourning dove and i have raised many pairs of children, and they never rolled out, or tumbled through, or blew away, and i do not worry about these. i shall never be thrifty like you good builders, perhaps, but i'm sure you cannot love your little ones any more than i do mine. it was very kind of you to be so sorry for me when you heard i was in trouble. i think i have the best neighbors in the world."