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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Daddy's Bedtime Bird Stories, by Mary Graham
+Bonner, Illustrated by Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Daddy's Bedtime Bird Stories
+
+
+Author: Mary Graham Bonner
+
+
+
+Release Date: April 19, 2012  [eBook #39484]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY'S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Iris Schröder-Gehring, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file
+      which includes the original illustrations (some in color).
+      See 39484-h.htm or 39484-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39484/39484-h/39484-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39484/39484-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics).
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "MR. OWL AWAKENED THE FAIRIES AND TOLD THEM TO
+LISTEN TO HIS BOOK."--_Page 2_]
+
+
+DADDY'S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES
+
+by
+
+MARY GRAHAM BONNER
+
+With four illustrations in color by
+Florence Choate and Elizabeth Curtis
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Emblem]
+
+New York
+Frederick A. Stokes Company
+Publishers
+
+Copyright, 1917, by
+Frederick A. Stokes Company
+
+All rights reserved; including that of translation
+into foreign languages
+
+
+
+
+  TO
+  "E. E. E."
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+  OLD MR. OWL WRITES A BOOK                                          1
+
+  THE WOODPECKERS START A BIRD BAND                                  4
+
+  THE CARDINAL BIRD AND THE ROBIN                                    7
+
+  THE WINTER WRENS' DEW-DROP BATHS                                  10
+
+  THE SEAGULLS MOVE TO BLUEY COVE                                   13
+
+  HOW THE LITTLE REDBIRD BECAME RED                                 16
+
+  POOR OLD MR. OWL'S TOOTHACHE                                      19
+
+  THE SOLOIST OF THE BIRD CONCERT                                   22
+
+  THE ROBINS OPEN A SPRING SHOP                                     25
+
+  THE RACE BETWEEN THE SECRETARY BIRDS                              28
+
+  THE QUARREL BETWEEN NAUGHTY LITTLE SPARROWS                       31
+
+  THE SUCCESSFUL CONCERT OF THE CHICKADEES                          34
+
+  THE COLONY OF STARLINGS GIVE A BALL                               37
+
+  ROBIN REDBREAST'S AND MISS ROBIN'S WEDDING                        40
+
+  THE TAME CANARY BIRD AND HIS MISTRESS                             43
+
+  THE PET BIRD OF THE WARD                                          46
+
+  THE EAGLE'S PRIDE AS THE BIRD OF FREEDOM                          49
+
+  WHAT THE BIRDS THOUGHT OF THE FOURTH OF JULY                      52
+
+  MR. NIGHTINGALE'S NEW FRIEND MR. BLACKBIRD                        55
+
+  MR. PLAIN SPARROW CALLS ON DUCKS                                  58
+
+  FARMER'S SCARECROW PROTECTS A CORN-FIELD                          61
+
+  THE BRAVE BROWN SPARROWS IN WINTER                                64
+
+  WHAT THE RAINBOW THINKS OF THE WORLD                              67
+
+  EAGLES AND RAVENS                                                 70
+
+  THE EAGLES WHO WERE ALWAYS STILL                                  73
+
+  THE BOBOLINKS HAVE A TEA PARTY                                    76
+
+  A HAPPY DAY IN BIRDLAND                                           79
+
+  THE ROBINS' SPRING CONCERT                                        82
+
+  THE CROWS AT THE FAIRIES' BALL                                    85
+
+  THE NAUGHTY LITTLE SICK SNOWBIRDS                                 88
+
+  A SPARROW CALLS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS                                 91
+
+  THE ROBINS COME TO THE RESCUE                                     94
+
+  MR. AND MRS. OWL'S STOREROOM                                      97
+
+  POLLY WAS THE HEROINE OF THE FIRE                                100
+
+  THE WINTER HOME FOR THE WREN FAMILY                              103
+
+  THE VAIN GOLDFINCH LEARNS A LESSON                               106
+
+  THE BATS HAVE A JOLLIFICATION                                    109
+
+  THE REPENTANCE OF LITTLE JIM CROW                                112
+
+  THE RESCUE OF THE CANARY BIRD                                    115
+
+  SMALL FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUES BIRDS                              118
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  "Mr. Owl awakened the fairies and told them to
+    listen to his book"                                 _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                          FACING PAGE
+
+  "In the afternoons Elizabeth lets him out of his cage"           44
+
+  "'We've been on this chair so long,' said the fourth eagle"      74
+
+  "The mother humming-bird hurried back"                           96
+
+
+
+
+     _These stories first appeared in the American Press Association
+     Service and the Western Newspaper Union._
+
+     _Many of the sketches in this volume are the work of Rebecca
+     McCann, creator of the "Cheerful Cherub," etc._
+
+
+
+
+OLD MR. OWL WRITES A BOOK
+
+
+[Illustration: Old Mr. Owl Danced with the Rest.]
+
+"Old Mr. Owl wanted to write a book and he asked the fairies how to set
+about doing it," commenced daddy.
+
+"'Well,' said the fairy queen, 'it makes a good deal of difference, old
+Mr. Owl, what you want to write about.'
+
+"'What nonsense!' he said. 'It's just that I want to know how to start
+off with my book. Just think what a marvelous book it will be--as for as
+long as folks can remember I've been called the Wise Bird--the bird
+who's awake at night and whose eyes are so very bright!'
+
+"'Before I started saying what a fine book it would be, if I
+were you, I'd write it and give other people the chance to say so,'
+said the fairy queen.
+
+"Mr. Owl began to write with his pen, made out of one of Mr. Turkey
+Gobbler's best feathers, on a large, flat stone, which he put in the
+hollow of his tree. Very late in the night, he awakened the fairies who
+had been sleeping, and told them to listen to his book. Then he called
+all the owls from the neighborhood with a loud hoot-hoot. But before he
+began to read, he said:
+
+"'I've not enough light. I will hurt my eyes--my beautiful,
+wise, big eyes.'
+
+"You see he had made a special arrangement to have his own lights, and
+when he said that he hadn't enough, from all over came countless little
+fireflies. They sparkled and gave the most beautiful light all over the
+woods, and Mr. Owl put his spectacles on his nose, and said:
+
+"'Now I see to perfection--which means quite all right.' And Mr. Owl
+commenced reading his book.
+
+"It told about the parties, balls, and picnics in fairyland, and of the
+wild adventures and happenings in the woods. The fairies were absolutely
+delighted that a book had been written with so much about them in it.
+
+"And the fairy queen was more than happy, for the last chapter was all
+about her.
+
+"'Well,' said Mr. Owl, 'you made me ashamed of myself for boasting about
+my book before I had written it, and so the only thing I could do was to
+write a wise chapter all about you.'
+
+"And the fairy queen smiled with pleasure and also with amusement--for
+Mr. Owl had certainly thought he could write a wise book--though the
+next time, perhaps, he wouldn't say so before he had written it.
+
+"The fireflies had been sparkling and flashing lights all this time, and
+finally they whispered:
+
+"'Have a dance, all of you; we'll give you the light and dance too. It
+is not well to read books all the time--you must dance.'
+
+"So they all ended off with a fine dance, and old Mr. Owl, with his book
+under his wing, danced with the rest of the owls and fairies. But before
+the evening was over he presented to the fairy queen a copy of his book,
+which said on the cover, 'A BOOK, by Wise Mr. Owl.'"
+
+
+
+
+THE WOODPECKERS START A BIRD BAND
+
+
+The Woodpecker family were around on various trees drumming, drumming on
+the bark. Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, Mr. Downy Woodpecker, and Mr. Red-Headed
+Woodpecker were hard at work.
+
+"Let's start a band," suggested Mr. Hairy Woodpecker.
+
+"What's that you say?" asked Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker, who had been so
+busy at work that he had not heard what Mr. Hairy Woodpecker had been
+suggesting.
+
+"A band," repeated Mr. Hairy Woodpecker.
+
+"What sort of a band?" asked Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker.
+
+"In the first place," continued Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, "our bills are not
+only fine tools for the work we have to do getting the insects from the
+trees, and burrowing for our nests, but they would be splendid to use
+in beating the drums in a band."
+
+"Where would we get the drums?" asked Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker.
+
+"The trees, of course, you silly!" said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker.
+
+"Oh yes, yes," agreed Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker.
+
+And Mr. Downy Woodpecker said, "Of course, of course. The trees will be
+our drums."
+
+"We'll get the other birds," said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, "to help us. We
+need something in a band besides the drums. We will ask the goldfinches,
+the mocking-birds, the bobolinks, the phoebe and chickadee families, all
+of the warbler and vireo families, and the robins of course. Then I
+think we'll ask the orioles, the whippoorwills, the thrush family, and
+the song sparrows."
+
+"Oh," said Mr. Downy Woodpecker, "that will make a perfect band. We'd
+better get started right away." And the woodpeckers began to practise.
+They made such a noise that the birds came from far and near to see what
+they were doing. Mr. Sapsucker, Mr. Crested Woodpecker, and Mr. Flicker
+Woodpecker had all joined in beating the drums too!
+
+"Why are you making so much noise?" asked the birds as they flew around
+to the nearby trees to talk to the woodpeckers.
+
+"Oh," said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, "we were just going to ask you all to
+join our band. We will beat the drums."
+
+"And just what do you want us to do?" asked Mr. Robin Redbreast, who was
+always eager to help.
+
+"You must all sing."
+
+"But we all sing differently," chirped a song sparrow. "We know
+different tunes and different songs."
+
+"Oh," said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, "I never thought about that. But never
+mind, you can have little parts to sing alone, and other choruses where
+you will all sing together. I'm sure it will be a very fine band after
+we have practised." And they began pounding the drums again.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Robin Redbreast, "if the bird band isn't to be the
+finest in the land, at least we'll make a cheerful noise!"
+
+
+
+
+THE CARDINAL BIRD AND THE ROBIN
+
+
+"The cardinal bird," said daddy, "is a very superior bird and will not
+come down to the ground. The lowest he will come is to a bush, but he
+never hops along the woods or lawns, no, not he!
+
+"One day Robin Redbreast was walking on a green lawn. He stopped several
+times to pick up a worm from the ground, swallow it whole and then walk
+along. In a tree nearby he spied the cardinal bird.
+
+"'Hello,' he said cheerily. 'Won't you come and have a worm with me?
+There are a number in this lawn, and the good rain we had last night has
+made the ground so nice and soft. Do join me,' he ended with a bright
+chirp.
+
+"'No, thank you,' said the cardinal bird. 'I wouldn't soil my feet on
+that ground. I hate the ground, absolutely hate it.' And the cardinal
+bird looked very haughty and proud.
+
+"'Come now,' said Robin Redbreast, 'you won't get your feet dirty. And
+if you do,' he whispered knowingly, 'I can lead you to the nicest brook
+where you can wash them off with fresh rain water. Do come!'
+
+"'I cannot,' said the cardinal bird. 'I do not like the earth. I want to
+be flying in the air, or sitting on the branches of trees. Sometimes I
+will perch for a little while on a laurel bush--but come any lower? Dear
+me, no, I couldn't.'
+
+"'It's a great shame,' said Robin Redbreast. 'Of course there is no
+accounting for taste.'
+
+"'Thank you for inviting me,' added the cardinal bird politely. For he
+prided himself on his good manners.
+
+"Pretty soon some people came along. At once they noticed the beautiful
+cardinal bird. He wore his best red suit which he wears all the
+time--except in the winter, when he adds gray to his wings. His collar
+and tie were of black and his feathers stuck up on top of his head so as
+to make him look very stylish and fine.
+
+"'Oh, what a wonderful bird!' said the people. Mr. Cardinal Bird knew
+they were admiring him, of course--and so did Robin Redbreast. No one
+had noticed _him_, but he didn't care, for he knew Mr. Cardinal Bird was
+by far the more beautiful, and a robin hasn't a mean disposition.
+
+"Well, when the cardinal bird heard the praise he began to sing--a
+glorious high voice he had, and he sounded his clear notes over
+and over again. Then suddenly he stopped, cocked his head on one
+side, as though to say,
+
+"'And what do you think of me now?'
+
+"From down on the ground Robin Redbreast had been listening. 'Oh, that
+was wonderful, wonderful!' he trilled.
+
+"'Listen to that dear little robin,' said one of the people. 'I must get
+him some bread crumbs.'
+
+"When the bread crumbs were scattered over the ground, Robin Redbreast
+invited the cardinal bird down again thinking they were for him! But the
+beautiful, proud bird would not come down, and the people were saying,
+'After all there is nothing quite so nice as a dear little robin.'"
+
+
+
+
+THE WINTER WRENS' DEW-DROP BATHS
+
+
+"The winter wren is really with us during the summer too," said daddy.
+"But he is too shy to be near us. We can only hear him sing sometimes.
+When winter comes, though, he goes to people for protection and picks up
+the crumbs they give him.
+
+"Yesterday he was sitting on a snow-berry bush with a tiny companion.
+The snow-berry bushes are full and leafy, and in the spring and summer
+are covered with very tiny pink blossoms. In the autumn and winter they
+are covered with little berries which look as if they had been made out
+of snow.
+
+"'Oh, how I dread the winter!' said the tiny wren. 'Just imagine how
+dreadful it would be if no one put any bread crumbs out for us, or no
+dog left us some of his dinner on a back porch.'
+
+"'Now,' said Mr. Brown Wren, 'you mustn't think of such sad thoughts.
+You always do! Someone will look after us. And maybe we'll find a few
+spiders now and then in the cracks, and then well have a regular feast.'
+
+"The next day they were back again on the snow-berry bush, and the day
+was much warmer. Now the wrens love to bathe above all things! Even in
+the winter they will go through a little sheet of ice and get into the
+cold, cold water underneath. For they must get their baths! And in the
+spring, when the tiny wrens are brought forth from their mossy nests,
+the first lesson they have is of bathing in some nearby brook.
+
+"But this day it was early in the morning, the snow-berry bush was
+covered with dew-drops and the wrens were delighted.
+
+"'The sun will drive them away soon. Let's take them while we get the
+chance,' whispered Mr. Brown Wren.
+
+"'Yes, yes,' said his small companion. 'We will soon have to bathe when
+it is so cold. Let us have a good warm bath first.'
+
+"And then those two little brown wrens took the dew-drops in their
+beaks, and dropped each one in turn on their feathers. Then they got
+under some leaves full of dew-drops and shook them down over their
+little feathered bodies.
+
+"After they were well covered with the dew-drops they began to shake all
+over just as every bird does when he takes a bath. And back they went to
+take another bath when this one was over. For they seemed to enjoy their
+last warm bath so much!
+
+"Finally they had bathed enough, and the sun appeared strong as could
+be, and shining very hard. They perched still on the branches of the
+snow-berry bush and bathed now in the hot sun. Soon their little
+feathers were quite dry and they began to sing.
+
+"And truly I think their song was one of gladness because of their
+dew-drop baths!"
+
+
+
+
+THE SEAGULLS MOVE TO BLUEY COVE
+
+
+[Illustration: Mr. and Mrs. Seagull Flew Off with Bluey.]
+
+"Mr. and Mrs. Seagull didn't really know what to do," said daddy. "They
+loved their home, which was in a big harbor, for they enjoyed seeing the
+boats pass and hearing the different whistles. All kinds of boats
+passed--ferryboats, sailboats, old fishing-boats, great big boats that
+went across the ocean, and little tugboats.
+
+"The seagulls would fly overhead, and then they'd land on top of the
+water, but they never could stay there long, as the boats would come
+along, and they would have to fly off. Of late Mr. and Mrs. Seagull,
+although they were still as fond of their home as ever, became rather
+worried, for the little seagulls didn't seem to be able to get out of
+the way of the boats as quickly as the old seagulls could. Mr. and Mrs.
+Seagull were afraid that one of them might get hurt by a boat.
+
+"Of course the little seagulls were quite certain that nothing like that
+would ever happen, but one day it did.
+
+"They were playing tag on the surface of the water and so interested in
+their game that they didn't notice until too late that a great huge boat
+was coming along. The captain of the boat had blown the whistle to scare
+the seagulls away. They hadn't heard it at all, so busy were they
+playing, and it hit poor little Bluey Seagull. One of the others called
+out:
+
+"'Oh, fly up quickly, Bluey!' He was not badly hit, for the pilot of the
+boat had seen the seagulls and made the boat slow down.
+
+"Bluey was frightened almost out of his wits, but with the encouragement
+of the other seagulls he managed to fly off.
+
+"When Mr. and Mrs. Seagull saw what had happened to Bluey they were
+horrified and quickly flew off with him, all the other little seagulls
+following.
+
+"They flew as far from the boats as they could, for, now that Bluey had
+been hit, they didn't think life in the harbor where the boats passed
+was so attractive. In fact, they decided they would never go back there
+again.
+
+"They flew so far that they reached a little cove at the basin of the
+harbor, and when Mr. Seagull saw it he said:
+
+"'This will be our new home.'
+
+"Mrs. Seagull said:
+
+"'We will never leave this home until all little seagulls are grown up,
+for then they will always be safe and can play all they want to without
+being afraid of getting hit by the big boats.'
+
+"So it was decided, and the cove was named Bluey Cove because it had
+been on Bluey's account that they had moved there. And of all the
+seagulls he was the happiest and most relieved."
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE LITTLE REDBIRD BECAME RED
+
+
+[Illustration: A Gray Bird Was Flying Overhead.]
+
+Jack and Evelyn had been playing circus all day. Jack had been the big
+man who stands in the middle of the ring and cracks his whip, while
+Evelyn had turned somersaults and made pretty bows. They told daddy all
+about it when he came home that evening, so he said:
+
+"As you're so fond of circus performing I will certainly have to tell
+you about the circus the animals gave.
+
+"Cub Bear got it all up, and every animal who went to it had to first
+agree to do something. And it really was a most marvelous circus. They
+all marched around in a parade, while the little bears beat the drums.
+The rabbits rode on the backs of the possums, and the monkeys rode on
+the backs of the elephants. The chipmunks drove chariots which were
+drawn by the gray squirrels, and the clowns were the frogs. The rest of
+the animals caught hands and followed in the march. They laughed and
+shouted and enjoyed themselves immensely.
+
+"Then all took their seats and one by one did some sort of an act. The
+monkeys won a great deal of applause by their trapeze acting. Cub Bear
+walked a rope and danced around on his hind legs. The bunnies rode
+bicycles, but that ended sadly, as one of them--a son of old Peter
+Rabbit, who was renowned for his bicycle riding--in trying to show off,
+fell and skinned his nose. All the other animals gathered around to see
+what they could do, while the bunny moaned and moaned.
+
+"A gray bird flying over the tent heard the sound of moans and cries and
+flew in to see what the trouble was, for he was a very kind-hearted
+bird. He saw that the bunny was really more frightened than hurt, and
+with his wings he wiped off the blood from the rabbit's face. The
+blood-stain never got off the wings of the bird, so ever after he and
+his family became known as the redbirds.
+
+"The bunny fully recovered and once more felt like himself; but, of
+course, after the accident, the animals didn't care to go on performing,
+so they all sat around the center of the tent and had a most glorious
+picnic. Refreshments of all kinds were passed around.
+
+"They had pink lemonade, peanuts, popcorn, ice-cream cones, and water
+taffy. After they'd finished eating they sang all the old-time songs and
+frisked about, playing and dancing. Bunny Rabbit, who felt quite spry
+again, frisked about too, and the redbird flew overhead, flapping his
+wings with joy, for he was so glad everything had turned out so merrily.
+
+"The circus proved such a success and the animals were in such high
+spirits that they then and there decided to have a circus every year."
+
+
+
+
+POOR OLD MR. OWL'S TOOTHACHE
+
+
+[Illustration: "I'm ready now," said Dr. Raven.]
+
+Evelyn had been eating a great deal of candy--so much that it had given
+her a very bad toothache--and when daddy came home he found her curled
+up on the bed looking very mournful. Jack had been trying to comfort
+her, but he hadn't been able to help much. So when he heard daddy's step
+he called, "Come along, daddy, and tell a story especially for Evelyn to
+make her forget about her toothache."
+
+"That is too bad," said daddy. "I'm sorry my little girl has a
+toothache. I'll see if I can't tell a good story so you'll feel better
+and will be able to sleep and have pleasant dreams. I think I'll tell
+you about old Mr. Owl, for he had the most terrible toothache one time.
+He had been eating a great many sugar-plums and lots of candy, and
+before he knew it one of his teeth was aching so hard he could hardly
+stand it. 'Oh, dear,' he moaned; 'my tooth, my poor tooth! Whatever will
+I do?'
+
+"It ached so badly for several days that he decided at last he'd go to
+the dentist. Dr. Raven was considered the very best dentist. So off went
+Mr. Owl to his office in the pine tree. When he arrived there he saw Dr.
+Raven busily fixing Mrs. Crow's teeth. She was leaning back on a stump
+of wood which Dr. Raven used as his dental chair. She had a rubber band
+over her mouth and looked very miserable. It quite frightened Mr. Owl,
+but he tried to be brave and sat down, put on his spectacles and began
+to read one of Dr. Raven's magazines. In a few moments Mrs. Crow got out
+of the chair, and Dr. Raven said, 'I'm ready for you now, Mr. Owl.' So
+Mr. Owl took off his spectacles, got into Dr. Raven's chair and leaned
+his head back. 'Open wide,' said Dr. Raven. Mr. Owl opened his mouth as
+wide as he could, and Dr. Raven looked inside. First he looked over his
+upper teeth, then over his lower teeth, and finally he began to poke at
+one back tooth with such energy that Mr. Owl screamed, 'That's my sore
+tooth, and you're hurting it terribly!'
+
+"'Yes,' said Dr. Raven; 'the tooth is a wisdom tooth, and it is much
+inflamed, so I'll take it out right away.' He reached for his pinchers,
+but Mr. Owl said: 'If you take out my wisdom tooth I'll lose my wisdom,
+and I'm known all over the world for my wisdom. I simply won't have it.'
+
+"And before Dr. Raven had a chance to speak Mr. Owl had jumped out of
+the chair and flown off. When he got home his tooth still hurt, but the
+next morning it felt much better, and the next day it was all well. 'I
+know what all the trouble was,' said Mr. Owl. 'I ate too much candy.
+I'll never eat too much again, for I cannot lose any of my wisdom teeth
+when I'm known as the wisest bird.'"
+
+"Daddy," said Jack, "your story would be a very good one, only owls
+don't have teeth." Daddy smiled, and as the children laughingly went to
+bed, Evelyn said her toothache had gone.
+
+
+
+
+THE SOLOIST OF THE BIRD CONCERT
+
+
+[Illustration: He Sang His Song Several Times.]
+
+The birds had begun their early morning concerts. "I know why," said
+daddy. "It is because they have been practising for their opening
+concert of the season which they gave this morning and which I am going
+to tell you about this evening. They have been practising hard every
+morning.
+
+"The vireos, having such lovely voices and being devoted to music, got
+it up and made all the arrangements. Yesterday, the day before the
+concert, they scratched signs on the trees, which in the bird world
+read:
+
+"'Concert in the village park to-morrow morning at 6 o'clock. All those
+who are taking part will, of course, be present. Those who are not
+taking part will be invited to attend. Splendid music. Good seats.
+Feature of concert to be the soloist. The name of the soloist will not
+be made known until the concert.'
+
+"All the birds were tremendously excited when they read that, for it was
+all a surprise arranged by the vireos. They were the only ones who knew
+who the soloist was to be. At the rehearsals even the soloist had not
+appeared.
+
+"At last the time for the concert came. All the birds were up very early
+that morning, fussing to look their very best.
+
+"Most of the birds sat around on the grass, but some of them had
+reserved boxes in the trees.
+
+"The program for the concert was delightful. The robins sang in chorus,
+as did the chirping sparrows. The warblers sang quartets and duets.
+Several of the chickadees gave little solos. The thrushes and the vireos
+appeared many times on the program. They were encored again and again
+and were greatly pleased.
+
+"The soloist was to appear the very last. A vireo came out and announced
+to the audience that the soloist, being slightly nervous, would not
+stand before them and sing, but would sing from a very short distance.
+
+"Then they heard from a neighboring tree the strange, lonely song of the
+whippoorwill. He sang his song several times over, and the applause was
+terrific. The birds were charmed, absolutely charmed.
+
+"The whippoorwill was very modest and didn't see why they liked his solo
+at all. He had really been very shy about appearing at the concert. But
+he was encouraged by the vireos, who, as a rule, are nervous, too, when
+they appear in public.
+
+"At the conclusion of the concert a vote of thanks was given the vireos
+for the crowning success of their concert and an additional vote of
+thanks for their splendid soloist."
+
+
+
+
+THE ROBINS OPEN A SPRING SHOP
+
+
+[Illustration: The Robins Agreed It was a Good Scheme.]
+
+"The robins, having left their warm winter home, had settled near a
+great, big, lovely park," said daddy. "Now, one of the robins happened
+to be a very practical old bird. He suggested that they shouldn't spend
+all their time singing, especially now, before the summer came. Then he
+thought it was all right to play and sing all day. But it would be nicer
+now, he thought, to do a little work.
+
+"The old robin's idea was that certain robins every morning should
+start out and dig up worms, for then they could get more than they
+wanted and could help supply the flocks and flocks of newcomers. Then
+other robins could go into the woods and get the new little berries
+that had just come up, and the rest of the robins would keep a shop in
+the biggest tree of the park. All the birds would do their shopping
+there in the most central place.
+
+"All the robins agreed that it would be an excellent scheme and so much
+better than idling away all their time.
+
+"As soon as a new flock of birds would come to the park the other birds
+would tell them about the shop of the robins, and off they would fly to
+it. And such good things as the robins all had in their shop! It kept
+them pretty busy hurrying around to get enough provisions to last for
+all of their customers as well as themselves. But they thoroughly
+enjoyed being so busy and decided that there was nothing in the world
+like work. At night they would feel so much better than if they'd been
+idle all day, and then they felt as if they had really been doing some
+good, for it was a great, great help to all of the other birds. You can
+imagine how they wouldn't be able to find things so quickly and they
+wouldn't know right away where the softest earth was so as to dig for
+the worms.
+
+"Of course some of the early bird families did arrive as early as the
+robins, but the robins were the thoughtful and unselfish ones who
+thought of the other birds."
+
+"Did they charge anything for the things they sold?" asked Jack.
+
+"No," said daddy; "the old robin said that birds should never charge
+each other anything, and, besides, they really felt that the work was
+doing them good and that then they'd enjoy the summer all the more.
+
+"And the other birds certainly did appreciate what the robins
+were doing for them.
+
+"The shop of the robins grew to be just like a daily party, for all the
+birds would fly there every day just about the same time, and after they
+had picked out the berries and the worms that struck their fancies
+they'd stay around and chirp and chat with the robins and each other."
+
+
+
+
+THE RACE BETWEEN THE SECRETARY BIRDS
+
+
+[Illustration: Mongo Got Quite a Bit Ahead.]
+
+"The secretary birds had planned to have some field races," began daddy,
+"and the afternoon of the races had come. You know, the secretary birds
+have very, very long thin legs. Their legs are so thin that you can
+hardly see how it is they can support such big bodies, for the secretary
+birds have really fat bodies.
+
+"Well, on the afternoon of the races they all entered, and you never saw
+such running in all your life! They simply went like the wind, but the
+chief race of all was between one bird named Sandy and one named Mongo.
+They were considered the fastest runners of all. They had raced often
+and often before and had always come in a tie. But this time Mongo had
+been practising very hard and had been very careful not to eat anything
+to hurt his wind. Sandy had been practising every day, too, but he
+thought it was absurd to give up things to eat. However, Mongo had
+always heard that all athletes were very careful of their eating, and,
+as he had never been able to beat Sandy yet, he was bound he would try
+everything he could so as to win.
+
+"The prize was to be a fine, great, big snake which had been captured
+and killed a few days before the races were to take place."
+
+"Do secretary birds eat snakes?" asked Evelyn.
+
+"Yes," said daddy; "they practically live on them."
+
+"I shouldn't think that would be nice food," added Evelyn.
+
+"No, we don't think so," answered daddy, "but you know we eat bacon and
+like it, so probably the secretary birds think it is as funny for us to
+eat pigs as we do to hear of their eating snakes."
+
+"No," said Evelyn thoughtfully, "I suppose not. They sound
+so horrid, though."
+
+At that moment Jack, who was growing very impatient, not caring what the
+secretary birds ate, chimed in: "Daddy, please hurry and tell us who won
+the race. I can hardly wait to hear. I am sure Mongo did, though."
+
+"No," said Evelyn; "I think Sandy did because he wasn't such an
+old fuss as Mongo."
+
+"Well," continued daddy, "during the race all the secretary
+birds shrieked in their cackling voices: 'Go it; go it! Win,
+Mongo! Win, Sandy!'
+
+"For a few moments Mongo got quite a bit ahead, but Sandy succeeded in
+catching up with him, and they passed by the goal side by side.
+
+"It was a splendid race, but it showed that Mongo and Sandy were really
+absolutely evenly matched, so they gave a funny cackle, which meant a
+laugh, and each, taking an end of the prize, said, 'We'll all have a
+taste of the prize, as neither of us can win it.'
+
+"So they all sat down to a very jolly supper party."
+
+
+
+
+THE QUARREL BETWEEN NAUGHTY LITTLE SPARROWS
+
+
+[Illustration: One Little Bird Found a Crumb.]
+
+Jack and Evelyn had been feeding crumbs to the birds every day
+for some time.
+
+"I fancy they enjoy them pretty well, don't they?" said daddy.
+
+"Yes; they love them," replied Evelyn.
+
+"Do they ever scrap over who shall get a crumb first?" added daddy.
+
+"No," said Jack; "they never seem to. They really are very cunning, and
+they seem to be very friendly and get along beautifully."
+
+"Well, you know," said daddy, "the other day I saw some birds having an
+awful fight. One little sparrow had found a very big crumb and was
+trying to keep it all to himself."
+
+"Sparrows are supposed to be rather fond of fighting, aren't
+they, daddy?" asked Jack.
+
+"They do seem to be considered crosser and to have more cranky natures
+than other birds. But perhaps it's because they're always around us, and
+they never have a quarrel that we don't see it. But really we ought to
+be very grateful to the sparrows, for we always have them with us."
+
+"Yes; that's true," said Evelyn. "And they're plucky little creatures,
+too, never minding bad weather, not even the very worst. But do tell us
+more about the fight, daddy."
+
+"Another little sparrow," continued daddy, "was furious when he saw the
+selfishness of the first sparrow. He completely lost his temper. He
+flew at the first little sparrow and hit him with his wings just as
+hard as ever he could.
+
+"Then a number of sparrows came and joined in the fight. Some took the
+side of the first sparrow and some of the second sparrow.
+
+"It really might have been quite a serious battle had not an old
+sparrow stepped in and pitched his voice way up in the air. He simply
+shrieked at the sparrows.
+
+"'Stop; stop at once!' he cried.
+
+"All the sparrows stopped at once, for they were very much afraid of the
+old sparrow. He was quite their leader, and, though he was a very jolly
+old soul and would enter into all their sports, still he was quite
+strict.
+
+"'Aren't you ashamed of yourselves, all of you,' he continued--'you,
+little first sparrow, for being so selfish, and you, little second one,
+for losing your temper, and the rest of you for joining in?'
+
+"And all the little sparrows hung their heads in shame, and they then
+and there promised the old sparrow that they would never again be greedy
+and selfish nor would they fight.
+
+"The old sparrow then looked very much relieved, for it always made him
+very unhappy when the sparrows were naughty."
+
+
+
+
+THE SUCCESSFUL CONCERT OF THE CHICKADEES
+
+
+[Illustration: One Little Chickadee Sang a Solo.]
+
+Evelyn was very fond of little chickadees, and she was so
+pleased when daddy said that he was going to tell them a story
+about them that evening.
+
+"You know," commenced daddy, "the chickadees had a concert the other
+evening for the other birds. They sent out invitations on petals of
+flowers, and on the petals they made little holes with their beaks. They
+made six holes, meaning that the concert would begin at 6 o'clock.
+Exactly at 6 they all arrived.
+
+"They were all invited to perch on the nearby apple tree and pear tree,
+and the chickadees hopped about on the grass below.
+
+"Then the concert began. First one little chickadee sang a very sweet
+little solo, which won a great deal of applause.
+
+"The choruses were enjoyed tremendously, too, and the refrain of
+'chickadee-dee-dee' was lovely, the other birds thought.
+
+"But, as you can imagine, the chickadee knew that it was the fashion to
+have special features at concerts or at least one special feature.
+
+"So as a surprise, just before the last number, which was a chorus
+of all the chickadees, a special feature was announced by the
+leader of the concert.
+
+"'We are to have,' said the chickadee leader, 'a different number from
+any other on the program.'
+
+"At this all the birds looked at one another with astonishment.
+
+"'We are to have,' the chickadee leader continued, 'a ballet.'
+
+"Now, the birds knew that in 'really real' grand opera there is usually
+a ballet, but to have one at their concert was wonderful.
+
+"But before they had time to talk about it out came all the little
+chickadees, dancing and hopping and wearing little wreaths of flowers
+about their necks. Each carried a little flower in his beak, and every
+flower was of a different color.
+
+"For some time they danced in and out of a little circle which they
+made. They received constant applause.
+
+"It was something new and different to have a ballet dance at the
+concert. The birds were very much impressed with the chickadees for
+being so up to date.
+
+"The chickadees were delighted that their concert had been such a
+success, for, as a matter of fact, they had been rather nervous in
+getting up a concert when the other birds had given such beautiful
+ones during the spring. They knew that their voices were not at all
+lovely, but the birds had wanted to hear them, and now the chickadees
+were very, very happy."
+
+
+
+
+THE COLONY OF STARLINGS GIVE A BALL
+
+
+[Illustration: They Took Little Flying Trips.]
+
+The birds gave concerts early every morning and sometimes, too, they
+would give an extra one just after the sun went down in the afternoon.
+Jack and Evelyn loved to hear the birds sing, and they told daddy that
+they were really learning to know the various songs of the different
+birds.
+
+"I have meant for some time," said daddy, "to tell you a story about a
+ball the starlings gave some time ago. Now the starlings are not
+singers. They can only chirp and twitter, but they love music and enjoy
+hearing all the other birds. They are great friends with the robins,
+and when they suggested giving a ball the robins were at once ready to
+help them with it."
+
+"I don't believe we know what starlings are. We may have seen them and
+not have known what they were," said Jack.
+
+"Starlings," continued daddy, "are about the same size as robins. They
+are black, or they appear to be black. In reality their feathers look
+different colors in different lights. But they usually appear black, as,
+of course, they don't come so very near to people. They are not nearly
+so tame as the robins. They have yellow beaks. And another thing about
+them is that they are very fond of their own kind. They travel always in
+huge flocks, for they love to be together.
+
+"But to continue about the ball. The starlings said that they would like
+to give a party, and the robins thought it was an excellent plan.
+
+"So invitations were sent out to all the other birds around. And they
+all accepted with great pleasure.
+
+"Ever so many were invited. There were the chickadees, the song
+sparrows, the chipping sparrows, the orioles, the thrushes, and
+even the catbirds were asked.
+
+"Of course, great preparations were made for the ball. The robins said
+that they would give the music, for, of course, the starlings couldn't
+have a ball without music.
+
+"And you should have seen the birds dancing. They danced until they were
+completely out of breath. The robins sang lovely waltzes and they
+whistled for the jigs.
+
+"Then, when the starlings thought that their guests had had enough of
+the dancing, they suggested that they should all have some supper. They
+had their supper served in little moss cups for each bird, and it did
+taste so good out of such a dainty, pretty cup."
+
+"I suppose they had little worms, didn't they?" asked Evelyn.
+
+"Yes, indeed," said daddy, "but that is what they think is delicious."
+
+
+
+
+ROBIN REDBREAST'S AND MISS ROBIN'S WEDDING
+
+
+[Illustration: In a Few Minutes Mr. Robin Came.]
+
+"Little Miss Robin was preening her feathers and smoothing them down,
+for it was the 14th of February and she had received a valentine.
+Naturally she was very much excited, and she looked at her reflection
+as she stood over the brook.
+
+"'Yes,' she said to herself, 'I am looking well to-day. I do hope Mr.
+Robin Redbreast will think so too. My, what a fine bird he is! And, oh,
+how lucky I am to have received a valentine from him!'
+
+"Now Mr. Robin Redbreast for a long time had admired Miss Robin and
+thought she was the most beautiful bird he'd ever seen. And so he began
+to get his valentine ready 'way back in the autumn when the trees had
+turned red. He would fly from tree to tree and spend hours each day
+looking for the most beautiful and perfect leaf, and he wanted it to be
+a real crimson color. At last he found it and put it away in his nest,
+very carefully covering it over with moss and straw to keep it well
+protected and so it wouldn't fade or shrivel up at the ends. Then a few
+days before Valentine's day he got a little stick which he stuck through
+the red leaf, which he had pecked off into the shape of a heart, and
+this was the valentine he sent to Miss Robin. Of course the stick was to
+mean that his heart had been pierced by love.
+
+"Mr. Robin Redbreast sent his valentine by a messenger, and then he
+waited what seemed hours to him before he went to call on Miss Robin,
+and it seemed hours to Miss Robin, too, who had smoothed her feathers
+so many times.
+
+"At last Miss Robin heard him singing the most beautiful song, with such
+high notes it seemed as if they almost reached the sky. And, oh, how
+proud Miss Robin was to feel that such a beautiful singer was to be her
+mate!
+
+"In a few moments Mr. Robin Redbreast came in sight and stood before her
+by the brook. Miss Robin was all of a flutter with joy and nervousness.
+
+"'I've come,' said Mr. Robin Redbreast, 'to ask you if you'll be my wife
+and come to my new nest in the apple tree.'
+
+"And then he sang another little song.
+
+"'I would love to, I would love to!' chirped Miss Robin.
+
+"'We'll be married to-day, then,' said Mr. Robin Redbreast, 'for I've
+invited the guests.'
+
+"Then he gave a long call. At that, from far and near, countless robins
+flew down and hovered around.
+
+"Mr. Robin Redbreast and his bride flew to the branch of a nearby tree,
+and all the others perched about them singing such merry, happy songs.
+
+"And then they all went back to Mr. Robin Redbreast's nest, where a
+banquet awaited them of fat, juicy worms."
+
+
+
+
+THE TAME CANARY BIRD AND HIS MISTRESS
+
+
+[Illustration: He Walked on Her Hand.]
+
+Daddy had heard that afternoon the story of a very tame canary bird.
+The little girl who owned the bird, and who was a friend of Jack and
+Evelyn, had told daddy about her little pet. So when daddy got home in
+the evening he was ready at once to tell the story of the little bird.
+
+"I am going to tell you about the little bird Elizabeth has. Her daddy
+gave him to her several weeks ago, and he is just as tame as tame can
+be," said daddy. "She has named him Bubsie, and he knows his name too,
+for whenever she calls 'Bubsie!' he replies with a little 'Peep, peep!'
+
+"Every morning, bright and early, he wakes up and begins to sing the
+most beautiful songs. He sings so steadily that Elizabeth says it is a
+surprise to her that he doesn't burst his little throat.
+
+"After Elizabeth gets up she always gives him a little piece of apple
+before she begins her breakfast. She puts it on her finger between two
+wires of the cage, and he hops right over on his little bar and takes
+it from her finger.
+
+"The next thing is his bath, which he takes soon after breakfast. He
+loves that. He spatters the water about and has just the best time in
+the world. He acts as if it were the most wonderful game. After his bath
+he has a treat of delicious lettuce to eat, and then he sits in the sun
+and smoothes down his feathers.
+
+"In his cage there is a swing, and he swings on it and hops from one
+perch to the other. In fact, he has a fine romp. He usually does this
+right after his bath, for then he feels so energetic.
+
+[Illustration: "IN THE AFTERNOONS ELIZABETH LETS HIM OUT OF HIS
+CAGE."--_Page 44_]
+
+"In the afternoons Elizabeth lets him out of his cage. Of course she
+sees first that there are no windows up or doors ajar before she opens
+the door of the cage. When the cage door is open Bubsie flies out and
+makes a tour of the room. How he does enjoy flying around and
+perching back of the different pictures and on the window-sill. The
+thing he likes more than anything else is to play with Elizabeth. He
+perches on her shoulder and walks around on her hand. And he loves to
+tease her too, for if there are any flowers in the room he will fly over
+to them, peck at them and begin munching at them. Then he won't let
+Elizabeth catch him. He thinks this a huge joke, and he always flies to
+some high spot in the room and begins to sing.
+
+"Elizabeth told me any number of tales of the tricks that he does, but
+she told me to invite you two children to come and see her, and then she
+promises you that Bubsie will entertain you."
+
+"Oh, that's fine!" said Evelyn. "Do you suppose we can go to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes, I think so," said daddy, "for, as a matter of fact, I believe I
+told her to expect you both to-morrow."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted the children. "You always think of such nice things
+for us to do."
+
+
+
+
+THE PET BIRD OF THE WARD
+
+
+[Illustration: The Bird Sat on His Hand.]
+
+"Well," said daddy, "I suppose you are ready for your story, and this
+evening I am going to tell you about a little boy I saw as I passed by a
+ward in a hospital I was visiting to-day."
+
+Jack and Evelyn sat up and listened eagerly, as they loved to hear about
+other little boys and girls.
+
+"This little boy," daddy continued, "was in the bed nearest the door I
+passed, and I noticed him particularly because on a table near his bed
+was a large cage containing a small yellow canary bird. I asked the
+nurse if pets were allowed in the ward and why this little boy
+especially wanted a bird. She told me that the little boy was an orphan
+and had been brought into the hospital one day, having been run over by
+a motorcycle. He was very much injured, and they expected he would die
+any minute. He was brave and scarcely moaned, but whenever the nurse
+would stop by his bed he would beg her to send for his bird, which was
+at the orphans' home. The nurse gently would explain that pets were not
+allowed in the hospital. One night his fever became very high, and in
+his rambling talk he begged for his canary. The doctor, who was a very
+kind-hearted man, told the nurse to send for the bird, as the little boy
+would not live more than a few days, and if the bird would give him such
+great happiness they might be able to break a rule in his case.
+
+"So the bird was sent for, and instead of dying the little boy began to
+grow better each day, and the bird's singing entertained and gave
+pleasure to the other patients in the ward. The bird was very tame, and
+when the little boy opened the cage door he would hop out and over the
+bed-quilt and perch on the little boy's hand.
+
+"The canary made friends with every one. He was not at all afraid of the
+grave doctors who came in every little while to see how the sick people
+were getting along. Especially was he friendly with the little boy's
+nurse, who fed him lumps of sugar.
+
+"I stepped inside the room and asked the little boy how long he had had
+the bird. 'Oh,' he said, 'a lady who came to visit the orphans' home
+gave him to me when I was ill in bed with mumps! That was six years ago,
+and he has been such a friend to me ever since. His name is Mumps, too,
+as I thought his chest looked as fat as my cheeks, and the name has
+always clung to him. He adores flowers, and whenever a patient has any,
+Mumps flies over and pulls off the petals and eats them.'"
+
+"Oh," said Evelyn as daddy paused, "I wish I could have a canary!"
+
+"Well, maybe I'll bring you one to-morrow," replied daddy.
+
+"And I'll help you feed him," said Jack.
+
+
+
+
+THE EAGLE'S PRIDE AS THE BIRD OF FREEDOM
+
+
+[Illustration: The Eagle Was Flying Overhead.]
+
+Of course, as you can imagine, Jack and Evelyn had been buying all
+sorts and all sizes of firecrackers.
+
+"I think the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday of the whole
+year," said Jack.
+
+"Yes," said Evelyn, "so do I, except possibly Christmas and
+our birthdays."
+
+"I suppose," said daddy, "that you two children will be up bright and
+early to-morrow morning, and I have my very great suspicions that your
+clothes are all ready to be put on in the morning instead of having to
+waste any time in thinking what you will wear.
+
+"I hardly think I had better tell a story to-night," said daddy, "for
+you two ought to get some sleep. I am afraid by the time I finish you
+may suggest that instead of it being the time for going to bed it is the
+time for getting up."
+
+"Oh, no," said both the children. "Please tell us a little story."
+
+"Yes," said daddy, "I don't believe I can let a single night go by
+without a story, not even the Fourth of July eve.
+
+"Well, once upon a time--"
+
+"Daddy," chimed in Jack, "I never heard you begin a story that way
+before."
+
+"You see, this is a special occasion, so I am allowed these favors.
+
+"But, to continue, there was once a great big eagle who was flying
+overhead on the Fourth of July, and when he saw all the firecrackers
+going off and heard all the noise and saw the parade with the flags
+flying and the band playing, he said:
+
+"'To think that I belong to the family that is taken as the
+representative of all that. I mean freedom and liberty and all those
+wonderful things. My great-great-grandfathers may not have fought for
+freedom as the great-great-grandfathers of the little boys and girls
+who are to-day firing off firecrackers did, but they flew overhead and
+said to the winds, which whispered it to the soldiers:
+
+"'"The eagles are free--you must be free." And the soldiers whispered
+back to the winds:
+
+"'"Yes, as the eagles are free in the air above, so will we be free on
+this land below."'
+
+"So, no wonder the eagle is more than proud of being the bird of freedom
+and the emblem of the United States."
+
+
+
+
+WHAT THE BIRDS THOUGHT OF THE FOURTH OF JULY
+
+
+[Illustration: They Fired Them Off Quickly.]
+
+It was the day after the Fourth of July, and daddy told the children
+that he must surely tell them about the little birds and what they
+thought of the wonderful Independence Day.
+
+"Didn't they like it?" asked Evelyn.
+
+"No," said daddy. "They were not so very happy yesterday, but I will
+tell you all about it, for it is quite a long story.
+
+"You see, some of the older birds knew what the Fourth of July meant.
+They thought it was splendid to belong to such a fine, free country
+during all the other days of the year, but on the Fourth of July they
+did not feel so patriotic. They would have liked it very much if all the
+little boys and girls had sung songs, but the noise of the firecrackers
+they thought was most disturbing.
+
+"There were no places where they could go that they didn't find children
+with firecrackers. Even in front of the farm-houses the children seemed
+to have firecrackers enough to last them for years.
+
+"The old birds decided that if they went way off in the woods for the
+day they might get away from all the noise, so they planned to start
+before dawn. They went, but at the first place they thought of stopping
+and giving a nice little bird concert, they found a picnic party of
+children. They waited for a moment until the children unpacked their
+baskets. But the goodies were not nearly so numerous as the
+firecrackers.
+
+"So the birds moved on again, and again they found a picnic party and
+were at a loss what to do.
+
+"The old birds were grumbling and making every one around feel just as
+'grumbly' as they were, when a little song sparrow, who had been keeping
+very quiet during all the fuss, said:
+
+"'Now, look here, I think it is pretty mean of us to grumble while all
+the little boys and girls are having such a good time. It is right for
+them to be patriotic, and we should not grumble about the noise they
+make one day in the year, when we are singing fit to burst our throats
+every morning just at sunrise. Besides, we should be more appreciative,
+for we love this free air, and we should feel proud that we can fly
+about and enjoy it. And, above everything else, think of the times in
+the spring when those little girls and boys threw crumbs to us when it
+was chilly, and how often in the hot days of summer we find little
+drinking-tins in the trees filled with cool water.'
+
+"And all the birds suddenly thought how perfectly right the song sparrow
+was, and they gave their concert, pretending that the big cannon
+crackers were huge chords of music accompanying their solos and
+choruses."
+
+
+
+
+MR. NIGHTINGALE'S NEW FRIEND MR. BLACKBIRD
+
+
+[Illustration: "Nice old lady will hear our voices."]
+
+"I heard a story the other day," said daddy, "a quite true story. Mr.
+Nightingale had built too large a nest.
+
+"After a while he thought of a visitor he would like to have all the
+time, and off he started on his travels.
+
+"As he went along, flying as fast as he could, he kept thinking to
+himself how very lonely he had been of late.
+
+"At last he reached the spot he had chosen for resting. It was in a
+blackbird's bay. There were many low bushes and shrubs and berry trees
+in this bay, and in the marshy water were quantities of pond-lilies.
+
+"Soon a very fine bird--black as black could be, and very shiny, just as
+if he'd polished his wings with shoe-blacking--perched on a bush beside
+the one where Mr. Nightingale was resting.
+
+"'Did you come to hear us sing or talk or scream?' asked the blackbird.
+
+"Mr. Nightingale sang a little opening song and then began to talk
+to the blackbird.
+
+"'Mr. Blackbird,' he said, 'you're a handsome fellow, and you're very
+smart. I've heard a secret about your family. Many have done what you
+will do. You must try. That's all.' And again Mr. Nightingale sang a
+song.
+
+"'What do you mean, Mr. Nightingale? Your song is lovely, but your talk
+is very, very queer.' And Mr. Blackbird shook his head sadly.
+
+"'Well, I mean you to come to my nest. It's too big for me. It's fitted
+out perfectly--all the latest improvements--fresh water to drink
+supplied by my water man, Mr. Showers, and new worms each day my
+children bring to my nest in plenty of time for breakfast--and our rooms
+are both shady and sunny. In fact, it's a very superior home. But in
+the house nearby lives a dear old lady and I want her to be given a
+treat. She has gone away on a visit and when she comes back I want you
+to be singing duets with me.'
+
+"'What?' shouted the blackbird. 'I'm to sing with you?'
+
+"'Most certainly. Many blackbirds have copied our voices so that you
+wouldn't be able to tell us apart if you couldn't see us. The nice old
+lady will hear our voices and think that there are two of me! When she
+sees that one is you, she'll think you're a smart bird--that's what
+she'll think. Besides, I want a companion and I like you.'
+
+"'Well, I never heard so many reasons in all my life,' said the
+blackbird. 'But I'll go just as soon as I get my suitcase packed. There
+are several little delicacies from the bay I'd like to bring along.' And
+Mr. Blackbird stopped to put some red berries and other goodies in his
+straw bag. Then off they went, and Mr. Blackbird really did learn to
+sing just like Mr. Nightingale."
+
+
+
+
+MR. PLAIN SPARROW CALLS ON DUCKS
+
+
+[Illustration: "Would you like to join us?"]
+
+"It was such a hot day yesterday," said daddy, "that Mr. Plain Sparrow
+simply could not get cool. You see he never goes away in the winter and
+so he gets used to really cold weather. On a day as hot as it was
+yesterday he simply doesn't know what to do with himself. He called
+himself Mr. Plain Sparrow because that was exactly what he was. He was
+just a plain, ordinary sparrow, and he thought it such a wise thing to
+call himself that--and not put on any silly frills. He prided himself
+on being sensible.
+
+"'If there's anything in this world I hate,' he said, 'it's pretending
+to be what a creature is not.' And so he called himself by the name of
+Mr. Plain Sparrow, and his wife was Mrs. Plain Sparrow, and his
+children were the Plain Sparrow Children.
+
+"'I think,' he said, 'that I will take a walk or a fly to the duck pond
+in the park nearby. Yes, it seems to me that's an excellent scheme. I
+would like to see those ducks, for they're right smart creatures, and I
+like to hear their funny quack-quack talk.'
+
+"'What are you up to, ducks?' he called, as he flew over the pond, and
+then perched on a small bush that was at one side.
+
+"'We're well,' said the ducks. 'We're enjoying a cooling drink between
+swims. Would you like to join us? It's just tea time.'
+
+"'Tea time, eh?' said Mr. Plain Sparrow. 'And would you give a fellow a
+good, fat worm in place of bread and butter and cake?'
+
+"'Quack-quack! ha, ha!' laughed the ducks. 'We don't like bread and
+butter and cake. But we can't get the worm for you just now, as we're
+not very good at digging on such a hot day!'
+
+"'Well, then, how about my digging for a couple of them, and then
+joining all you nice ducks when you're ready to have your tea?'
+
+"'Splendid idea,' quacked the ducks. And off went Mr. Plain Sparrow to a
+soft place in the earth where he thought there would be some good worms.
+
+"Pretty soon he came back with some fine ones, and he sat on his perch
+and ate them, while the ducks nibbled at their food, and had drinks of
+pond water, which they called tea. Mr. Plain Sparrow flew down and took
+sips of water by the side of the pond, and in one very shallow place he
+had some nice showerbaths while the ducks were having swims. And before
+he left he told the ducks what a good time he had had, and how nice and
+cool he felt.
+
+"'Well, you're so friendly we're glad you came,' quacked the ducks once
+again."
+
+
+
+
+FARMER'S SCARECROW PROTECTS A CORN-FIELD
+
+
+[Illustration: "It's a man."]
+
+"To-night," said daddy, "we are going to have the story of the meeting
+of the brownies, crows, and old Mr. Scarecrow. The crows had been giving
+feasts in a corn-field almost every morning bright and early before any
+of the big people who lived in the nearby farm-house were up. Such
+feasts as they did have! And one day they asked the brownies if they
+wouldn't come to their next one.
+
+"'Caw-caw,' said the crows together.
+
+"'Where are we going?' asked one of the brownies teasingly, for they had
+been going around and around in circles and hadn't reached any place.
+
+"'I don't quite know,' said Black Crown Crow, 'it's a question which is
+very hard to decide.'
+
+"'But we thought you had chosen a special spot,' said one of the
+brownies.
+
+"Black Crown Crow looked very sad, and his black wings seemed to droop.
+'It's that guest I never asked. He's causing all the trouble. How very
+rude it is of folks to come to a feast who aren't invited, and to arrive
+before us, too. It's very e-x-a-s-p-e-r-a-t-i-n-g!'
+
+"'Who is he?' shouted the brownies, for every little while Black Crown
+Crow had gone ahead and then had come back. In these little trips he had
+seen right in the center of the corn-field a man--a real man, he
+thought, with a hat and a coat and trousers and boots--and carrying
+something which he couldn't quite make out. It was either a great huge
+stick--or worse still--it was a gun. He shivered whenever he thought of
+that awful word gun.
+
+"'Caw-caw,' again shrieked Black Crown Crow, 'it's a man and he has a
+gun--I'm sure it's a gun. Now the rudeness of him! As if we wanted a
+man and a gun at our corn feast!'
+
+"'Oh, it was to have been a corn feast, and now the man has stopped it,'
+laughed one of the brownies. 'Well, such a joke! But to show you how
+nice we'll be when we're here ready for a party which can't take place,
+we'll give a nice party ourselves.'
+
+"And the brownies scampered about a little grove near the corn-field,
+and there they made a bonfire over which they cooked some corn-meal
+which they had carried with them in their bags. They knew all along,
+ever since they'd started, where the crows wanted them to go for the
+feast, and they also knew that the farmer had made that scarecrow in his
+corn-field to frighten off Black Crown Crow and his followers.
+
+"The brownies made a fine feast, but how they did chuckle among
+themselves that the pole dressed up as a man had succeeded in saving
+the corn for the people of the farm-house."
+
+
+
+
+THE BRAVE BROWN SPARROWS IN WINTER
+
+
+[Illustration: One Bird Seemed to be the Leader.]
+
+"You know," said daddy, "I saw such a strange thing to-day in the city."
+
+"Tell us about it," said Jack.
+
+"What was it?" asked Evelyn, who was always interested in
+whatever daddy had to say.
+
+"Well," continued daddy, "in a tree in the park lots and lots of little
+sparrows were roosting. It was, of course, a perfectly bare tree without
+a leaf on it, and they were huddled together, keeping each other warm.
+
+"I watched them for quite a time. There was one sparrow who looked the
+leader. He did most of the chirping and was apparently telling all the
+others what they must do and giving all sorts of directions. He chirped
+almost constantly for ten minutes, and then he flew down from the tree
+and hopped along the ground. He picked up crumb after crumb, and then
+when he had as many as he could carry in his beak he flew up in the tree
+again and left them on a branch where there was a kind of hole in which
+to put them. He was evidently showing all the other birds just what to
+do, for in a minute or two any number of them flew down to the ground
+and began to pick up crumbs.
+
+"It was wonderful to see how many they could find, for I myself could
+hardly see any, and all the time he kept chirping to the others and
+telling them what to do.
+
+"This kept up for some time, for the birds would fly back and forth,
+just picking up goodies and then putting them up in the tree. Meantime a
+lot of other birds who had stayed up in the tree were fixing them on the
+branch and dividing them all evenly."
+
+"Didn't they eat any of them?" asked Evelyn.
+
+"Yes. After quite awhile they all flew back to the tree again, and once
+more they huddled together and had the most marvelous meal. You see, it
+was their dinner time, and they all had it together at the same time to
+make it more sociable. From all the cries of joy and the noise I fancy
+they were having a pretty good time of it and enjoying themselves
+immensely. In fact, I think they almost forgot how cold it was."
+
+"I think it's wonderful," said Evelyn, "how well the birds can
+look after themselves, for it must be pretty hard sometimes,
+especially in the winter."
+
+"Yes," said daddy, "it is, but these birds seemed so happy together and
+to be having such a good time. After dinner was over they all chased
+each other from one tree to another in the park and played tag and had a
+beautiful time. So I think really birds and animals are smart and brave
+to be able to look after themselves and their little ones so well."
+
+
+
+
+WHAT THE RAINBOW THINKS OF THE WORLD
+
+
+[Illustration: Smacked Their Little Beaks.]
+
+"The fairies were giving a luncheon party for the birds, and they wanted
+to have a great, big surprise," said daddy. "The birds which were
+invited were the robins, the orioles, the bluejays, the humming-birds.
+
+"'Now, birdies,' said the fairy queen, 'I'm going to ask the king of
+the clouds to this luncheon, so we'll have plenty of delicious
+rain-water to drink.'
+
+"Of course, the fairy queen had told the king of the clouds that she
+didn't want him to send his army of raindrops to the earth--for an army
+would make it pour too hard and they couldn't have any fun at the
+luncheon. She just wanted some of the big, big drops to come down and
+fill the little stones she had at the places for the birds so that they
+could have delicious water at her party--but she didn't want to make it
+so wet they'd get their beautiful feathers drenched--just a nice little
+shower was what she wanted.
+
+"The king of the clouds had promised, and he had told the raindrops just
+what to do and just how many could go down on the earth.
+
+"The birds enjoyed the delicious luncheon the fairies gave them, and, of
+course, they loved their fresh drinks of water.
+
+"'Now for our surprise,' shouted the fairies, after the luncheon was
+over. 'We're to have two famous guests to-day. This is to be a really
+real day! And we're to have them both at the same time--and we're to
+have another treat, too. Guess, birds, what are we going to have? Guess,
+guess, guess!' For the fairies were so excited they kept repeating
+themselves over and over again.
+
+"But before the birds had time to do more than twitter and chirp among
+themselves as to what the great surprise was going to be, who should
+appear, right along with the raindrops, but Mr. Sun, and then over a
+hill came the most beautiful rainbow with all the glorious colors the
+fairies admire so much.
+
+"And then you should have heard the singing of the birds. Every one of
+them had a glorious voice, and the chorus was the loveliest the fairies
+had ever heard. As for Mr. Sun, he beamed and shone with might and main.
+
+"'Well, hello, raindrops,' he said. 'I'm mighty glad to see you. It's
+not often we meet, but the fairy queen can make all of us friendly--even
+the sun and the rain.'
+
+"And the raindrops came on down to the earth very gently, but without
+stopping, while back of it all the rainbow leaned down over the
+hill and whispered:
+
+"'Isn't this a wonderful world? There are fairies, birds, the sun, fresh
+water to drink. I'm so glad I am here.'"
+
+
+
+
+EAGLES AND RAVENS
+
+
+[Illustration: He is Very Brave.]
+
+"Some white-tailed eagles were boasting one day of their bravery,"
+commenced daddy. "They were also saying how fine they were in every way
+and that their very name meant something splendid and free and strong.
+
+"As a matter of fact, though the white-tailed eagles won't admit it,
+they are less brave than any of the eagle families.
+
+"The ravens are not kindly at all and they love to fight. They had often
+thought it would be great sport to have those 'silly white-tailed
+eagles,' as they called them, admit that they were not brave and have
+their leader beg for mercy from General Raven.
+
+"And, as you can imagine, when Brother Black Raven heard the eagles
+boasting he knew it was high time to begin and frighten them.
+
+"So he called all the ravens together. Some of them were having their
+naps, but as soon as Brother Black Raven called them, up they got in a
+great hurry, spread their wings and drilled a little bit just like
+soldiers. Only instead of marching they flew.
+
+"As General Raven came near the nest of the white-tailed eagles, he said
+in a very queer, croaking sort of voice:
+
+"'Good-morning!' That was rather mean of him to say, for, of course, he
+didn't really wish them a 'Good-morning.'
+
+"'Do you want to fight?' asked General Raven.
+
+"Still not a sound from the eagles. There was a slight fluster and
+trembling, which the ravens could hear and which made them grin with
+delight, but the eagles never said a word. They didn't even look at the
+ravens! For they were so frightened they didn't dare look at them, and
+they kept thinking, 'Oh, won't those awful ravens and their ugly old
+general go away?' The eagles, of course, thought the ravens were very
+ugly because they were so afraid of them.
+
+"'For the last time, do you want to fight us, eh?' asked General
+Raven. And still the eagles said not a word--nor made a sound. 'Well,
+let me say then for all of us,' said General Raven, 'that we think
+you're very cowardly, and we heard you talking before we came of your
+bravery. We wouldn't fight you because you're afraid of us, but you'll
+have to admit it after this,' and with a deep chuckle off went General
+Raven and his followers.
+
+"The eagles did not go on boasting, but they were very contented that
+the ravens had gone away!"
+
+
+
+
+THE EAGLES WHO WERE ALWAYS STILL
+
+
+[Illustration: He Put the Book Before Him.]
+
+"In the house where Kenneth lived there was a chair which had always
+fascinated him. It was a very, very old chair, and Kenneth's mother and
+daddy were very proud of it," said daddy to Jack and Evelyn. "Kenneth's
+daddy had bought it at a sale of old and curious things. It was a Roman
+chair, and on either side were two heads of eagles. These four heads in
+all always made Kenneth wonder, for they looked so very life-like. He
+used to imagine that even little wooden eagles must get very tired of
+always being just the same.
+
+"Really it often made Kenneth quite sad to watch them. One afternoon
+Kenneth went to a party. A little school chum of his had given it. It
+had been a very nice party. But, oh, he did feel so tired, for they had
+played blind man's buff, bull in the ring, squat tag, and other games.
+
+"When Kenneth came home from the party it was not quite his bedtime, but
+secretly in his heart he was hoping it would come soon, for he had made
+up his mind that he wasn't going to bed until his bedtime.
+
+"He got a book from the library shelf. It was full of pictures of
+sailors and pirates and ships, because if anything would keep him awake
+that would. He sat down with it on the Roman chair.
+
+"Strangely enough, though, after a moment or two, he didn't seem to see
+pirates, and the sea began to look very much more like the surface of a
+chair. Soon the pirates disappeared entirely, and the four eagles of the
+Roman chair were looking at him steadily.
+
+"'You're terribly tired, aren't you?' said the first eagle.
+
+"'Yes; I'm a little tired,' Kenneth admitted.
+
+[Illustration: "'WE'VE BEEN ON THIS CHAIR SO LONG,' SAID THE FOURTH
+EAGLE."--_Page 75_]
+
+"'Well, you're not as tired as we are,' said the second eagle.
+
+"'No, indeed!' said the third eagle. 'You're only tired because you've
+played so many games. We're tired because we're always still.'
+
+"Kenneth listened eagerly, because he'd so often thought just what
+he was hearing. 'Yes,' said Kenneth very sympathetically; 'I should
+think you would be very dull. I've often thought that. Have you been
+there a long time?'
+
+"'Oh, ages and ages!' replied the fourth eagle, who up to this time
+hadn't spoken. 'We were very old before your daddy got us. We've been on
+this chair so long. We can't remember how long. And what makes us feel
+so sad is that we are called eagles and should fly and yet are forever
+glued to this chair.'
+
+"'Kenneth, Kenneth,' cried Kenneth's mother, 'it's long past bedtime!'
+
+"'Oh, I am not so tired as the eagles are!' said Kenneth. And Kenneth's
+mother wondered if he was talking in his sleep."
+
+
+
+
+THE BOBOLINKS HAVE A TEA PARTY
+
+
+[Illustration: Who Should Arrive but Fairies.]
+
+"The other day," commenced daddy, "the bobolinks had an afternoon tea.
+
+"The tea party was given for the meadow larks. The bobolinks are great
+friends of the meadow larks and they wanted to be the first this season
+to entertain them. Besides, most of the bobolinks had new summer homes
+and their colony was near a beautiful stream.
+
+"You know the bobolinks always build their homes in the meadows--but
+they build very near a stream and their homes are always deep down
+in the long grass.
+
+"They had all come to live in Waving Grassland for the summer--that is,
+all the bobolinks who always moved about together in the summer and
+winter--and many of their friends, the meadow larks, were on hand to
+greet them. A number of others were going to arrive in a few
+days--before the tea party.
+
+"Now Waving Grassland was very beautiful country. The meadows were very
+large and the grass was so beautiful and so long that it always waved
+in the soft breezes, so that the bobolinks named their new summer
+place Waving Grassland.
+
+"And so the bobolinks made all their preparations for the tea party. The
+guests arrived dressed up in their best new summer plumage. The meadow
+larks came first, as they were the guests of honor.
+
+"The red-breasted grosbeak family were all there looking too lovely for
+words. And the bluejays, downy woodpeckers, the orioles, the thrush
+family, the chipping sparrows, the robins, the indigo birds--and even
+the shy vireos ventured forth. Of course, usually they hate parties, but
+they loved the stream nearby and the beautiful country the bobolinks
+were living in, and they thought at least once a year they ought to be a
+little bit sociable and friendly with their neighbors.
+
+"After they had all chatted together--to us it would have sounded more
+like chirping--the bobolinks began to serve tea.
+
+"They had spring water for their tea--the water from the cool stream
+which had a deep spring within it. And this tea they served in little
+moss-covered stones. That gave it the most delicious flavor, and all the
+birds asked the bobolinks where they had found such good tea. You know
+in birdland they don't ask each other where anything is bought, but
+where it is found! And the bobolinks told their secret.
+
+"But as they were drinking cup after cup--or stoneful after stoneful--of
+tea, who should arrive but all the fairies!
+
+"The birds greeted the fairies with their best songs--or their way of
+saying 'We're so glad to see you'--and the bobolinks trilled with joy
+because they had arranged this lovely surprise for their guests."
+
+
+
+
+A HAPPY DAY IN BIRDLAND
+
+
+"The birds," said daddy, "found a new room for breakfast. It was in a
+row of bushes--and the bushes were berry bushes.
+
+"One day as they were having the best sort of a time eating, who
+should look down at them but the king of the clouds. He looked
+quite dark and solemn.
+
+"'Te-wit,' said one little bird, and another said,
+
+"'Tr-r-r-i-l-l.'
+
+"'How about some water to drink?' asked the king of the clouds. 'Some
+nice, fresh water?'
+
+"The birds began chirping for all they were worth. The grown-ups said,
+'Listen to the noise the birds are making. It must be going to
+rain--they're crying for water.'
+
+"And sure enough, they were begging the king of the clouds to send some
+of his army of raindrops down to the earth.
+
+"'Please, please, please, Cloud King, send us rain-water,'
+chirped the birds.
+
+"'All right,' roared the cloud king. 'I will.'
+
+"'But we don't want thunder,' said the birds. 'We want to stay out, and
+we're afraid of thunder. Won't you send us a good old-fashioned shower?'
+
+"And the cloud king called, 'Raindrops, raindrops, come and patter down
+to the earth. But gently, little raindrops. And when you see the beak of
+a little bird open, one small raindrop must walk inside.'
+
+"Down came the raindrops very softly and gently to the earth.
+
+"'Children,' called Mother Robin, 'come for your baths in these hollow
+stones. They're filled with water.'
+
+"All around the mother birds were calling the little ones to their
+baths.
+
+"'Oh,' said one little robin as he ducked his head into the water, and
+then shook all over and spattered it about, 'how nice a bath does feel.'
+
+"The cloud king looked so bright and happy, that the mother birds were
+afraid it would stop raining. 'Don't stop, Cloud King,' they chirped.
+
+"'I won't,' said the cloud king. And the birds twittered and sang and
+wet their little throats with the delicious rain-water.
+
+"After the cloud king and his army of raindrops had been working for
+quite a long time, one of the birds noticed that the new breakfast room
+in the berry bushes was getting very wet.
+
+"'It will spoil our berries for breakfast, I'm afraid,' he said.
+
+"But the berries whispered back,
+
+"'No; we like the rain too. We needed some water to drink. And more of
+us will come to-morrow. Your breakfast will be better than ever.'
+
+"So all day long the rain kept up gently. When it was almost bedtime who
+should appear but old Mr. Sun.
+
+"'Shall I dry your little feathers?' he said to the birds.
+
+"And every little bird in birdland was warm and dry and happy when he
+tucked his head under his wing that night."
+
+
+
+
+THE ROBINS' SPRING CONCERT
+
+
+[Illustration: The Grand Opera Chorus.]
+
+"The robins gave their spring concert the other morning for the
+fairies," said daddy. "They give one every year just after most of their
+family have arrived for the summer. It is one of the biggest events of
+the spring in fairyland, and they are so excited about it for days ahead
+that they can talk about nothing else. They've practised so hard and so
+long lately that the day has been quite far gone many a time, when some
+little robin has been trying over and over again some important trill
+which he was going to sing alone.
+
+"But the concert was given just at dawn. Mr. Sun came out for it,
+looking as fine as any king with a very dazzling golden crown on his
+head. Then the dew-drops came and had reserved seats on the little
+blades of grass. Some of the early butterflies were invited, and the
+little spring garden flowers opened their sleepy eyes and waved about,
+keeping time with the music.
+
+"First of all was the grand opening chorus. Mr. Robin Redbreast had a
+little stick with which he beat time, and all the robins sang a fine
+song which he had made up himself.
+
+"Then came the solos. Miss Robin Redbreast sang a beautiful song
+all by herself.
+
+"Then two little brother robins sang a song together--they called it a
+'duet,' which was very funny. They acted as they sang, and made all the
+fairies and the other guests at the concert laugh hard.
+
+"But best of all was the band. It was a new band the robins had just
+started, and they were very proud of it. It was a great surprise to the
+fairies, for they didn't know the robins had a band. As you can guess,
+the robins had worked hard for a big surprise for the fairies. Ten
+little robins played the drums, which were tiny twigs from the apple
+tree. There were little spring leaves through which some of the others
+whistled tunes, and the rest played on horn-shaped flowers.
+
+"After the concert was finished and the fairies had clapped and
+clapped and waved their wands with delight, and the little robins had
+bowed and bowed--and fallen down, sometimes making too low bows--they
+all had breakfast. Such a breakfast! The most luscious of worms were
+given the little robins and a special dish was made for the fairies of
+spring porridge, which Grandmother Robin had made, and which the
+fairies called 'Delicious.'"
+
+
+
+
+THE CROWS AT THE FAIRIES' BALL
+
+
+[Illustration: They Promised to Wait on Guests.]
+
+"The fairies had one of their fine balls just two evenings ago,"
+said daddy.
+
+"Among their guests were the brownies, elves, gnomes, many of the
+birds, butterflies, humming-birds, red lizards, grasshoppers, and
+crickets. The crickets had arranged to sing for the dancing and the
+humming-birds said they would hum the tunes all the time that the
+crickets sang. The robins sang some extra songs, and, of course, the
+other birds joined in the chorus.
+
+"Then came supper time. The table was made of daisies and moss, and such
+delicacies! Well, it would have made your mouth water!
+
+"They had the goodies that every guest would enjoy most. Not a guest
+was forgotten. There were even little worms for the birds--and the
+other guests didn't mind at all, as they knew the robins and orioles
+and other bird guests loved little worms. They were given to the birds
+in special dishes made of grass.
+
+"But just as all the guests sat down to supper the fairy queen said:
+'Come, all my fine waiters!' And as she said this she waved her wand
+high in the air.
+
+"Then from far and near the blackest of black crows flew down and
+alighted all around the table. They had promised the fairy queen to be
+just as good as good could be, and to wait on all the guests before
+they had anything at all to eat. They were quite willing to do this,
+for they had never been invited to a ball given by the fairies before
+and they were highly flattered.
+
+"They all had had their black suits polished and brushed with the
+greatest care and they wore very fine aprons and hats made of green
+leaves. Every time a guest said 'Thank you' when anything was passed, a
+crow would say, 'Caw-caw,' which means 'You're welcome.'
+
+"The crows always say 'Caw-caw' to almost everything, but it is just
+the tone they use that makes the 'Caw-caw' mean something quite
+different each time they want it to. At the end of the supper, after the
+crows had had a feast, too, the fairy queen asked them if they wouldn't
+sing the old, old song about blackbirds being baked in a pie.
+
+"At first the crows looked a bit sad, but then they said: 'Why, of
+course, we'll be happy to sing it. It's lots of fun to sing about such
+things after we have had a feast and know quite well that the fairy
+queen wouldn't bake us in a pie.'
+
+"How the guests did laugh to hear the crows singing about blackbirds
+being baked in a pie--and stopping every minute to shout out, 'Not us,
+though, oh, no!'--and the fairy queen was delighted."
+
+
+
+
+THE NAUGHTY LITTLE SICK SNOWBIRD
+
+
+[Illustration: The Bird Began to Recover.]
+
+Daddy had been encouraging Jack and Evelyn to feed the little birds
+that came outside the window. So one evening when it was time for
+their story he told them about the Christmas a little snowbird had
+had the year before.
+
+"He was a very self-willed little fellow," commenced daddy, "and he
+thought no one knew so much about life as he did. During the autumn he
+had become very chummy with the sparrows. His daddy and mother didn't
+like that much, as they were afraid he would become as rude and noisy as
+the sparrows were.
+
+"When the cold weather came the snowbirds decided to leave, but the
+little wilful snowbird was nowhere to be found. 'Where could he have
+gone?' asked Mother Snowbird, and daddy said, 'Oh, probably he left this
+morning with the robins and wrens, for I saw him playing with them!'
+That eased Mother Snowbird's fears, and off they started.
+
+"When the little snowbird saw that his family had flown away he came out
+from his hiding-place. He really felt a little homesick and was sorry he
+hadn't gone, too; but, of course, he didn't dare admit it, for the
+sparrows had told him only stupid children were obedient. They admired
+his naughty disobedience and thought it was a great joke to worry his
+family.
+
+"A few weeks went by, and the days became colder and colder. One night
+he felt so cold and so unhappy that he flew away from the sparrows,
+expecting to die any moment.
+
+"The next morning he was found, half dead, by a little girl. She took
+him in her house, warmed his frozen feet and fed him bits of crumbs and
+drops of water. Slowly he began to recover.
+
+"It was the day before Christmas, and he was perched on the window-sill
+in the sun, when, to his huge joy, he saw Daddy and Mother Snowbird
+outside the window. He flew against the window-glass. The little girl
+came rushing into the room to see what the trouble was. She was sure
+from his joyous actions that the other two snowbirds were his daddy and
+mother, so she opened the window, and the little bird flew out.
+
+"'Oh, dear, we've been so frightened!' said Mother Snowbird.
+
+"'Yes,' said Daddy Snowbird; 'we've been on ever so many trips looking
+for you, but now we'll hurry down home and fly fast, so as not to get
+cold, and then we'll be there in time for Christmas day. All the little
+birds will be there waiting for the Christmas party.'
+
+"You may be quite sure the little snowbird never had a happier
+Christmas, and he realized that the older birds knew what was best
+for him."
+
+
+
+
+A SPARROW CALLS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS
+
+
+[Illustration: Mr. Hippopotamus Was Having His Bath.]
+
+"The hippopotamus who lived in the zoo had a very strange caller the
+other day," said daddy.
+
+"Into the animal house flew a sparrow. The keeper called out to him:
+
+"'Where are you going, sparrow?' But the sparrow did not answer. He flew
+right through the animal house until he reached Mr. Hippopotamus' cage.
+Mr. Hippopotamus was having his bath, and he would not be interrupted.
+
+"The sparrow was rather annoyed that Mr. Hippopotamus didn't want to
+come right out of the water to talk to him, and he scolded from his
+perch on the wire of the cage. There he sat scolding away, and the
+hippopotamus kept on splashing and spluttering as he took his bath.
+
+"Soon the hippopotamus came up from the water and sat in the corner of
+his cage, and the sparrow hopped over to a wire a little nearer.
+
+"'Mr. Sparrow, I am sorry to be late for your call,' said the
+hippopotamus, 'but the truth is I wanted to look my best.' And his
+great, long, funny old face grinned, and he showed his big teeth.
+
+"'That's all right,' cheerfully chirped the sparrow. 'I have plenty of
+time to-day. My family have gone a-shopping for bread crumbs which they
+find every day in a certain back-yard. And I have nothing to do. I've
+come to tell you the news of the world outside.'
+
+"So the sparrow told Mr. Hippopotamus all about the wild scampers the
+sparrows had been having. He told about their quarrels and how they had
+made up again. And he bragged about their friends and relations, the
+song sparrows, who had been very friendly this year.
+
+"When Mr. Sparrow began to be boastful, the old hippopotamus said:
+
+"'You think I'm finer than my cousins in that cage over there?' And Mr.
+Hippopotamus pointed to some other members of his family. They were very
+much smaller and their coats looked just like chocolate. 'And,' he went
+on, 'when the children see those silly cousins of mine they always say,
+"Why, they look just like tins of chocolate taffy left to cool." They
+never can say anything quite so stupid about me.'
+
+"'Well,' said Mr. Sparrow, 'I must be off now, as it's time the bread
+crumbs and the family were coming home.' He spoke about the bread crumbs
+first, you notice. 'But I'll come and see you soon again, old hippo,'
+and the little sparrow flew off."
+
+
+
+
+THE ROBINS COME TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+[Illustration: Saving the Little Birds from Danger.]
+
+The honeysuckles were beginning to bud. Already the humming-birds were
+hovering near and had built a nest right in the heart of the vine. This
+vine was in a nice old-fashioned garden, but near by there was a vacant
+lot which was very swampy.
+
+"You know the garden by the vacant lot?" began daddy.
+
+"Yes," replied both children, "are you going to tell us a story
+about that garden?"
+
+"I am going to tell you," said daddy, "about the mother humming-bird
+whose little ones were attacked by a cruel snake when they were rescued
+by the brave robins.
+
+"The snake had come over from the vacant field and had crawled up the
+honeysuckle vine as the mother humming-bird had gone off for some food.
+Some robins hovering near had seen the awful snake. They had cried out
+in terror and had flown over to the nest.
+
+"The mother humming-bird heard the cries and hurried back, but the
+robins had frightened off the snake. The snake was not a very large one,
+and really he had been frightened by all the noise the robins had made,
+and when he saw so many birds flying toward him he got away very
+quickly.
+
+"The mother humming-bird got back just as the snake was leaving the
+nest.
+
+"She couldn't thank the robins enough for flying to the rescue and
+saving her beloved little ones, but the robins didn't want any thanks.
+They were thankful, too, that the dear little birds had been saved, for
+birds are very loyal to one another and will risk any danger to save
+each other."
+
+"I am so glad," said Evelyn, "that the little humming-birds were saved,
+for I love to see them having such a good time in the honeysuckle vines,
+and the more there are of them the nicer it makes the summer seem."
+
+"It was brave of the robins to come to the rescue, though, wasn't it,
+daddy?"
+
+"Indeed it was," said daddy; "but almost all animals and birds will
+do anything they can to help one another, and they seem to forget
+that there is such a thing as being afraid if they see any creature
+in danger or distress.
+
+"After the mother humming-bird had recovered from the awful fright, and
+after the little ones had shown that they were perfectly well and
+strong, with no ill effects from their fright, the mother humming-bird
+invited the robins to partake of the delicious meal she had succeeded in
+getting before the cries came from the robins."
+
+[Illustration: "THE MOTHER HUMMING-BIRD HURRIED BACK."--_Page 95_]
+
+
+
+
+MR. AND MRS. OWL'S STOREROOM
+
+
+[Illustration: Waited on All Who Came.]
+
+"Two owls," commenced daddy, "lived in a soft feathered nest in the big
+woods. After a time they got a little tired of talking and scolding and
+hunting and midnight parties, so Mrs. Owl, who was always saving odds
+and ends, thought it would make them very rich and happy if they had a
+store.
+
+"'What,' said Mr. Owl, 'a store?'
+
+"'Yes,' replied Mrs. Owl, as she smoothed her feathers and polished
+her back with a bit of bark. 'It will be not only a store, but a
+supper-room.'
+
+"'Whatever do you mean?' said Mr. Owl.
+
+"'You know,' continued Mrs. Owl, 'that in the world where people
+live they have parties. There is nothing new about that. Don't we
+have parties? Yes.'
+
+"Mrs. Owl always answered all her own questions when she had something
+most important to say, and when she did not want to have anyone
+interrupt her or disagree with her.
+
+"'And so, if we have parties in the woods, think what a great help it
+will be to all the wood animals and the fairies and brownies and gnomes
+if we have a supper-room attached to our store--where after the parties
+the wood creatures can come and have supper.'
+
+"Mr. Owl sat up very straight and said, 'To-wit, to-who,' or it sounded
+very much like that. What he meant was that he thought it an excellent
+scheme. And he went on to tell Mrs. Owl that she could fix up all the
+dishes for the supper and decorate the tables--and he would go forth and
+hunt for the good things to eat.
+
+"The store was started right away. The animals came to buy their things
+in the daytime--and as Mr. and Mrs. Owl were asleep they would simply
+take them away and not pay for them at the time.
+
+"That didn't bother Mr. and Mrs. Owl at all, though. They wanted to
+have such a fine store that all their things would be taken, and they
+left notes for the little animals saying:
+
+"'Take all you like. We must sleep and think up more wonderful things to
+do for you. As for pay--we don't want it. We're already to be envied for
+our knowledge. We don't even have to go to school--and are always
+cleverer than those who do go!'
+
+"The animals were much amused at the conceit of Mr. and Mrs. Owl, but
+they had to admit that their store was a great success. And as for
+their supper-room--it was perfect!
+
+"Every evening it was very gay, with the chatter of many of the wood
+animals and the fairies, after different parties and frolics. Mrs. Owl
+made the most delicious goodies, and always made the tables look very
+attractive with wild flowers.
+
+"As for Mr. Owl, he put on a big white apron and a white hat and waited
+on all who came to the supper-room, and often he would make wise, wise
+speeches for the benefit of all around him."
+
+
+
+
+POLLY WAS THE HEROINE OF THE FIRE
+
+
+[Illustration: Shrieked at the Top of Her Lungs.]
+
+Jack and Evelyn had been to see a friend of theirs who owned a parrot.
+The parrot, whose name, of course, was Polly, had completely fascinated
+them. She could dance when a tune was whistled, she took sugar from her
+mistress's mouth, and she could talk. She could say: "Pretty Polly,"
+"Polly, want a cracker?" "Polly hungry," "Polly, want a bite?"
+
+So when daddy came home that evening, of course Jack and Evelyn told
+him all about the parrot, and later he told them a story about another
+parrot.
+
+"In a small town," said daddy, "a little girl named Alice owned a pet
+parrot who was very clever. This parrot could talk a great deal and say
+ever so much more than just 'Polly, want a cracker?' This Polly could
+whistle, too, most beautifully, and could do a great, great many
+wonderful tricks. Of course, as you can imagine, Alice was very proud of
+her parrot, and Polly was devoted to Alice.
+
+"One night when every one in the town was fast asleep a fire broke out
+in a deserted barn, and, as there was a high wind, it began to spread.
+The house nearest the fire was the one in which Alice lived, and Polly
+Parrot was the first to smell the smoke. She shrieked at the top of her
+lungs, 'Fire, fire!' and the whole household came rushing downstairs and
+found the library, where Polly was, full of smoke.
+
+"They put on coats and, grabbing Polly's cage, rushed out of the house
+as quickly as they could, for the flames were beginning to break through
+on all sides. Alice's daddy rushed off to ring the fire bell, while
+Alice, carrying her Polly Parrot, and her mother followed along. Soon
+every one in the town was up and out in the street. The firemen managed
+to keep the fire from spreading, and they saved all the valuable things
+in Alice's home.
+
+"As everyone stood around watching the firemen throwing the water on the
+fire Polly kept calling out: 'It's pretty hot! It's pretty hot! I tell
+you it's pretty hot!' That amused everyone, so that it kept up their
+spirits during the awful fire.
+
+"At last, however, the firemen succeeded in putting the fire out, and
+one of the neighbors invited Alice and her mother and daddy to stay at
+her house, and, of course, Polly Parrot went along too.
+
+"Polly was now not only considered a very clever bird, but a real
+heroine, for she had awakened Alice and her family and saved their lives
+and also the lives of many others, for with such a wind many houses
+would have gone had not the firemen been called out just when they were.
+
+"Instead of being vain about it, Polly Parrot acted as though her one
+pride was that Alice was more devoted to her than ever."
+
+
+
+
+THE WINTER HOME FOR THE WREN FAMILY
+
+
+[Illustration: All the Little Boys Helped.]
+
+"A number of little boys living in a small town were very much
+interested in carpentry," said daddy. "They made boxes and chairs and
+tables and all sorts of things.
+
+"They had a nice tool shop in an unused barn belonging to the daddy of
+one of the little boys.
+
+"In the late autumn one of the little boys, who was very fond of birds
+and especially so of the house wren, suggested that they should build
+some little bird houses under the low roof of the barn.
+
+"So all the little boys helped because they thought it was such a nice
+plan."
+
+"What is a house wren?" inquired Evelyn.
+
+"A house wren," said daddy, "shows his difference from other wrens by
+having black and gray lines on his brown back. His tiny tail points
+upward and his breast is grayish white. He is very friendly and loves to
+keep the same home.
+
+"Now, the boys had noticed that one family of wrens had built a nest on
+the side of this same barn two summers. They had flown away when the
+cold weather came each time.
+
+"The boys built a fine little house with great care and watched to see
+if the wrens would go to it. And, sure enough, they did! Apparently they
+thought it was a beautiful house, although they, of course, wished to
+furnish it in their own way."
+
+"How did they furnish it?" asked Jack.
+
+"They filled it with twigs, and in the center of the house they put
+masses of dried grass and twigs.
+
+"The boys were interested watching the wrens, and the wrens seemed
+perfectly happy. There were no sparrows near by. They saw that the boys
+were friendly, and they found the wooden house kept out the cold air.
+
+"Week after week passed, and still the wrens didn't show any desire to
+move to a warmer place. On the very coldest day they would come out,
+flit about, hop and bow, and be as energetic as possible.
+
+"Of course the boys never touched the house after they'd built it, for
+the wrens then would have left, and the wrens made their front door
+so small that a sparrow couldn't possibly have gone inside and bothered
+the little ones.
+
+"You can imagine how delighted the boys were; and to keep the wrens from
+feeling homesick for a warmer home, each day they'd scatter crumbs
+around near the wrens' home, then watch the wrens hop down and take them
+up to the nest, and the wrens seemed to be very happy when they saw the
+boys. They acted as if they knew and appreciated that the boys had built
+them such a fine home."
+
+
+
+
+THE VAIN GOLDFINCH LEARNS A LESSON
+
+
+[Illustration: He Hid His Face in Shame.]
+
+"Mr. Goldfinch," said daddy, "was very conceited and proud of himself.
+To be sure, a goldfinch's voice is very much like a canary's--but it's
+not quite so lovely--and he can't do the wonderful trills a canary can
+without his voice cracking. Of course, that isn't beautiful.
+
+"So the fairy queen made plans. First of all, she asked the birds to
+give her a concert, and gladly they all said they would.
+
+"And the next day, on a row along the fence of an old country road, near
+the woods, perched all the bullfinch family, the oriole family, the
+bluejay family, the indigo bird family, and the goldfinch family.
+
+"First of all they all sang in a beautiful chorus, and the fairy queen
+and all the fairies were delighted.
+
+"Before long the elves happened along by the old fence, and they said:
+
+"'What's up? A concert? May we stay?'
+
+"'By all means,' said the fairy queen, and then she whispered to the
+elves her secret. The elves sat along the opposite fence and perched on
+the fence between some of the birds, too.
+
+"When the birds had finished singing in the chorus and were not
+supposed to sing by themselves, they flew to the wings of the fairies
+and perched there.
+
+"You can imagine how lovely the fairies did look, with their bright
+silver wings, and the beautiful birds with their bright colors perched
+everywhere on the wings.
+
+"'Now,' said the fairy queen, 'remember what I've asked for.'
+
+"At that Mr. Bullfinch came out and sang in his sweet little way. He
+didn't try to sing anything very big or hard, but he sang a little,
+simple song, in the very best way he could.
+
+"Soon Mr. Goldfinch came out to sing his solo. At first his song was
+very fine and all the other birds cried, 'Bravo,' 'Wonderful,'
+'Gorgeous,' at the end of the first verse. And they all sang these words
+in their own little bird ways.
+
+"But at the beginning of the second verse Mr. Goldfinch tried to sing a
+trill that was too hard for him.
+
+"And what do you suppose happened? Mr. Goldfinch's voice cracked, and
+all the birds tittered and flew off the fence, chatting with each other.
+
+"'Well, wasn't that a disgrace--and at the fairy queen's concert, too!'
+
+"As for Mr. Goldfinch, he hid his head in shame and felt very wretched,
+but the fairy queen waved her wand, and said to every one: 'This concert
+was given so Mr. Goldfinch would learn to be natural and not try things
+beyond him. We all like you as you are, without silly, vain
+actions--sing us a simple song now, and we'll forgive you!'
+
+"So Mr. Goldfinch learned he mustn't try to copy the canary."
+
+
+
+
+THE BATS HAVE A JOLLIFICATION
+
+
+[Illustration: How the Bats do Love the Night!]
+
+"The bats are all so glad the summer has come," said daddy. "For a
+long, long time they have been staying in the caves and hiding away in
+the tops of the corners and crevices. But last night they had their
+first real jollification.
+
+"One of the bats had said it was high time to go out into the world, but
+another bat had said it was still too chilly. Then a bat said:
+
+"'Well, what have we wings for?' And after that it was decided that
+they should be off.
+
+"They waited until it began to grow dark--and then some of the ones who
+hadn't been sleeping very well got up and flew about a little while.
+
+"Then the others who had been sound asleep woke up just as it became
+very, very dark. Oh, how the bats do love the night! They love it just
+as much as the birds love the daytime and the sun. For, though bats have
+wings, they are not at all like birds and they aren't in the least
+friendly with any of them.
+
+"So off they started on the jollification. First they whizzed through
+the air practising their different ways of flying. And after they had
+all the strength back into their wings, they reached the garden of an
+old, deserted house, where they stopped for the rest of the night.
+
+"There they told stories and chatted and chatted. For they had a great
+deal to say after their long sleep, and they ran races, and did tricks,
+and frightened people they saw coming along the road.
+
+"They would get so near that each person would say:
+
+"'Oh, dear me, I must cover up my head or that bat will get caught
+in my hair.'
+
+"The bats thought that was a great joke, as they had no intentions of
+caging themselves up in someone's hair when they could be at the
+jollification. But they did enjoy playing pranks on the grownups.
+
+"And soon, much too soon, daylight came.
+
+"But what do you suppose happened? Such a wonderful ending to their
+jollification! Didn't those thoughtful little brownies, who had known
+all about the bats' jollification--and feeling rather sorry for the bats
+because they don't have such very good times--send some magic air-boats
+which picked up the sleepy bats as they flew along. Then they were
+carried back to their cold, hard beds in the crevices of the
+rocks--which they thought were so comfortable!
+
+"And as they crept into bed, there were never so many happy bats and
+pleased bats as these were at having had air-boats bring them home
+from their jollification!"
+
+
+
+
+THE REPENTANCE OF LITTLE JIM CROW
+
+
+[Illustration: Jim Ducked Him in the Brook.]
+
+"Little Jim Crow had been very naughty," began daddy. "He had been
+bullying Sammy Crow for some time past simply because Sammy was not so
+large and not so strong as he was. Jim Crow was quite a leader, too, in
+a very mean way, for he'd tried to influence a lot of other little crows
+to think it was smart to tease Sammy.
+
+"Well, one day Jim got hold of Sammy and ducked his head into a brook of
+very cold water, where the ice had only recently melted.
+
+"Poor Sammy was so frightened he almost cried his eyes out, while Jim
+stood by and laughed and laughed. But Sammy was far from being strong,
+and the cold water made his head throb and ache, while his bones felt
+numb and his feathers lost their nice shiny look. He complained so much
+for several days of his head that his family sent for old Dr. Crow.
+
+"Dr. Crow was a fine physician. He wore great big spectacles, and, oh,
+he was so kind! When he saw Sammy he became very much alarmed.
+
+"'Why didn't you tell me of this sooner?' said he.
+
+"'Oh, what's the matter?' asked Sammy's mother. 'Is he really very ill?
+We thought he had a little cold.'
+
+"Dr. Crow took from his black medicine-bag a little thermometer and put
+it in Sammy's mouth and at the same time felt his pulse. Then he pulled
+the thermometer out. He looked very grave.
+
+"'Mrs. Crow,' said he to Sammy's mother, 'his temperature is very high,
+and he must be put right to bed. Put his feet in mustard and hot water
+and bathe his head every three hours with witch hazel, and I'll call
+around again this evening to see him.'
+
+"'Oh, you don't think he is going to die, doctor?'
+
+"'I think he'll live, but he is pretty sick and needs great care.'
+
+"After Dr. Crow left Sammy he went to Jim Crow's mother and daddy. He
+was very angry at what had been done to Sammy. When Jim's mother and
+daddy saw Dr. Crow coming toward their nest they were afraid Jim had
+been doing something awfully naughty, for he had stayed home very little
+the past few days, and they suspected something had happened.
+
+"At that moment Jim flew in boisterously, and the doctor told him how
+ill Sammy was and of what he had done.
+
+"For some days Sammy lay at the point of death, but with Dr. Crow's
+skill he finally got well.
+
+"And Jim Crow, who had felt like a murderer, became a good crow
+and realized it was very, very cruel to tease any one smaller
+and weaker than himself."
+
+
+
+
+THE RESCUE OF THE CANARY BIRD
+
+
+[Illustration: She Watched the Little Bird.]
+
+"I am going to tell you a really true story," said daddy, "something
+which happened to-day. I was walking along a rather poor part of the
+city when I saw a number of children gathered in a group in a little
+side yard of a tenement house. The children were screaming to one boy:
+'Oh, catch him! Don't let the awful cat get him!'"
+
+"Oh, was it a bird?" asked Jack eagerly.
+
+"Yes," replied daddy; "it was a bird, but not just the usual kind of
+bird that is seen around city streets, for only the sparrows like the
+noise of a city. Most birds like the woods and the country, where they
+can have homes in the trees and can sing all day long.
+
+"But this was a tame yellow canary who had flown out of an open window
+to pick up some goodies he saw on the ground, and a cat was after him."
+
+"Did they get him from the cat?" asked Evelyn eagerly, for she was
+devoted to animals and perhaps especially to birds.
+
+"Yes," answered daddy; "the little boy succeeded in rescuing him, but
+the poor canary had been so frightened that his little heart was
+beating, oh, so fast, and the children were afraid he was not going to
+live.
+
+"They all followed the little boy who had caught the canary just in
+time into the tenement house. The cat had knocked several feathers
+from the bird's tail.
+
+"Another child told me the canary belonged to a little girl who lived in
+the tenement. He asked me to follow, too, for he said that the little
+girl had trouble with her back and had to lie flat all the time. She
+loved visitors, for so much of the time she was lonely. Her mother was
+poor and out all day sewing, so the little girl's only companion was the
+canary, who would sing for hours and hours. He seemed to know he must
+keep her cheered up.
+
+"So along I went too. We climbed some stairs until we came to a dingy
+room where on a cot by the window lay a little girl about eight years
+old. She had big dark eyes, and when I saw her her cheeks were bright
+red from all the excitement.
+
+"All her friends had gathered around, each giving her a special
+description of how the bird had been rescued. She was smiling with joy
+and watching the bird, who was now busily engaged nibbling at a little
+piece of apple which had been given him. Before long he began to sing,
+oh, so joyously, for he knew he was once more back in his happy home,
+where he would take good care to stay in the future.
+
+"I told the little girl of my Jack and Evelyn, and she said she wanted
+to see you both. Shall we all go to see her and her little bird some
+day?"
+
+"We'd love to!" cried Jack and Evelyn delightedly.
+
+
+
+
+SMALL FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUES BIRDS
+
+
+[Illustration: "We'll have our hose ready."]
+
+"The salamanders," said daddy, "are little creatures very much like
+lizards in looks, except their skin is not scaly as a lizard's. They
+have four legs and a tail, and are very nice, kind and gentle.
+
+"Well, these salamanders agreed that they would have a fire department,
+and the next thing was to arrange for the hose and ladder. Finally it
+was decided that their salamander cousins should be chosen to run the
+hose and ladder.
+
+"'We shall call ourselves the fire and water fire department,' said
+one of the fire salamanders. 'It will be our business to rush in and
+rescue the animals who are in danger of being burned to death, and it
+will be your business to help them down to the brook, where we'll have
+our hose ready to sprinkle them with good, cool water.'
+
+"But days and days went by, and still no fire broke out.
+
+"'I know what's the trouble,' said another one of the fire salamanders.
+'We have no fire bell; there may have been fires that we knew nothing
+of; you never can tell.'
+
+"'Don't be gloomy,' said still another fire salamander. 'We'll have a
+fire bell. I know where a kind old cow left her bell from last year.
+We'll put it by the stump just at the edge of the brook and all the
+animals can be told to move it when there is a fire. Then we will all
+come out and stop the fire.'
+
+"And soon notices were put up all over the woods and around the brook
+which read:
+
+"'To the Animals: Attention! In case of fire, ring the cow bell
+by the brook. The Fire and Water Fire Department of the Salamanders
+will PUT IT OUT.'
+
+"These notices were read by all the animals, and the very next day the
+salamanders heard the cow bell.
+
+"'Where's the fire?' they all shouted.
+
+"'Over there,' said Grandfather Frog, who was watching the fire
+department start off.
+
+"They wiggled and crawled as quickly as they could to the spot where the
+fire was. It was the vireo family's nest. You know the vireos are those
+beautiful, shy birds that live in the woods and have such lovely voices.
+The fire salamanders rushed right into the fire and pulled out of the
+nest the vireo children just in time before their little feathers got
+burnt. And, of course, the Mother and Daddy Vireo were able to fly out.
+
+"When they all reached the brook at last, the Mother and Daddy
+Vireo sang the most wonderful song as a reward to the brave salamander
+fire department."
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+    Illustrations have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the
+    closest paragraph break.
+
+    "grown-ups" and "grownups" have been retained in both versions in
+    this project.
+
+    Opening quotation marks (") at the beginning of several chapters
+    have been added without comment.
+
+    "Well, I mean you to come" has been changed to "'Well, I mean you
+    to come" page 56.
+
+    "funny quack-quack talk." has been changed into "funny quack-quack
+    talk.'" page 59.
+
+    Printer's inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation
+    have been retained.
+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY'S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39484.txt or 39484.zip *******
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