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23/ the trim little builder made a pretty picture as she came ^[[airily]] trippg [[strikethrough]] along [[/strikethrough]] home 2 her [[strikethrough]] work [[/strikethrough]] ^[[insertion]]nest[[/insertion]]. Her tail w perked up ^ [[insertion]] jauntily [[/insertion]] & [[strikethrough]] fr her bill ^ [[insertion]] as a ^ [[insertion]] low [[/insertion]] shield ready 2 her ft [[/insertion]] hung a skeleton leaf maple leaf. [[/strikethrough]] her bill w full o skeleton leaves ^ [[insertion]] soft & their f compost[[/insertion]] f [[strikethrough]] wet [[/strikethrough]] flooring. Once she came wi a whole skeleton maple leaf hangg fr her bill 2 her ft- ^ [[insertion]] li [[/insertion]] a gt  shield.
On enterg the nest she laid [[strikethrough]]down her [[/strikethrough]] lay on the floor [[strikethrough]] mouldg [[/strikethrough]] & ^ [[insertion]] proceeded 2 [[/insertion]] flatten it down by the same mouldy process a/w bds use in mating [[strikethrough]] modellg [[/strikethrough]]^[[insertion]]mating[[/insertion]] (in cup nests ^[[insertion]]solid &[[/insertion]] 2) [[strikethrough]] & hard 2 form. [[/strikethrough]]
[[insertion]]She workd rapidly 2 w being a long interval from 2 6 gone f material[[/insertion]] the no. o  leaves she used [[strikethrough]][[insertion]] in this way [[/insertion]] f her flo [[/strikethrough]] w aston f [[strikethrough]] fr [[/strikethrough]] [[insertion]] ni [[/insertion  these thin tissue paper layers her coreeach floor  w alue [[insertion]] a [[/insertion]] glassy  [[strikethrough]] in its [[/strikethrough]] [[insertion]] bowl of [[/insertion]] smoothness &  [[insertion]] hardness [[/insertion]] perfection.  She & I[[?]] [[strikethrough]] some [[strikethrough]] [[insertion]] a little [[insertion]] hair 2 ber leaf [[strikethrough]] Sometimes [[/strikethrough]] lining & one long straw lay on the outside [[two connected lines separate the next words]]  oven w so deep [[strikethrough]]the[[/strikethrough]]

Mum she w working [[insertion]] inside [[/insertion]] at the back [[strikethrough]] o the oven w so [[/strikethrough]]she cd & 6 sew placidly.[[?]] [[insertion]] Bef fly off[[/insertion]] [[strikethrough]] Sometimes [[/strikethrough]]

Transcription Notes:
slashes interpreted as 'the', including compounds, eg: '/se' = 'these'