Wonderful Old Hand-carved Bird Shaped Box gift for the scholar or for transporting food to

or for transporting food to a temple

This fabulous thing is a carved wood whistle in the shape of a bird

And then on the backs are clever rhymes for each

later returning to Vermont to work for 14 years as a fireman and engineer on the passenger train of the Burlington & Lamoille Railroad

Wonderful Old Hand-carved Bird Shaped Box gift for the scholar or for transporting food toI was delighted to find this one in New Hampshire the other day, which I presume was made as a snuff box, 19th c American I would guess. (It would really also be the perfect box for holding the tiny bone dice I just listed!) Such an elegant form suggesting a bird through the sparest of means (it feels to me quite reminiscent of early Native American bird stones), wider for the body and gracefully tapering toward the gently pointing beak. I also love