Summary

“The Bird Woman” is the seventh chapter of Mary Poppins. Mary takes Jane and Michael into the city to visit Mr. Banks at work, but the children are almost more excited to see the Bird Woman than to see their father. The Bird Woman sits near St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and earns a living selling bags of crumbs to passers-by on the street, which are used to feed the hundreds of doves and pigeons which sit atop the cathedral. She is known for constantly saying, in a sing-song voice, “Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Bag!” (107) The children buy a bag of seeds and interact with the Bird Woman, and Mary Poppins becomes upset when a bird pecks at her brand-new hat, of which she is very proud. Jane tells Michael a story he loves to hear about...