THE mother robin woke up in the early morning and roused her three
children.
“Breakfast time, my dears!” she said; “and a good time for a flying
lesson, besides. You did well enough yesterday, but to-day you must do
better. You must fly down to the ground, and then I will show you how
to get worms for yourselves. You will soon be too old to be fed, and I
cannot have you more backward than the other broods.”
The young robins were rather frightened, for they had only had two
short flying lessons, taking little flapping flutters among the
branches. The ground seemed a long, long way off!
However, two of them scrambled on to the edge of the nest, and after
balancing themselves for a moment, launched bravely out, and were soon
standing beside their mother on the lawn, trembling, but very proud.
The third robin was lazy, and did not want to fly. He thought that if
he stayed behind and said he was sick, his mother would bring some
worms up to him, as she had always done before. So he sat still in the
nest, and drooped his head.
“Come along!” cried the mother robin. “Come, Pecky! Why are you sitting
there alone?”
“I—don’t feel very well,” said Pecky. “I don’t feel strong enough to
fly.”
“Oh!” said his mother, “then you had better not eat any breakfast, and
I will send for Doctor Woodpecker.”
“Oh no, please don’t!” cried Pecky, and down he fluttered to the lawn.
“That’s right!” said the mother robin, approvingly. “I thought there
was not much the matter with you. Now bustle about, my dear! See how
well your brother and sister are doing! I declare, Toppy has got hold
of a worm as long as himself. It will get away from him—no, it won’t!
There! he has it now! Ah! that was a good mouthful, Toppy. You will be
a fine eater!”
Pecky sat still, with his head on one side. He felt quite sure that if
he waited and did nothing, his mother would take compassion on him and
bring him some worms. There were Toppy and Flappy, working themselves
to death in the hot sun. He had always been his mother’s favourite (so
he thought, but it was not really so), and he was quite sure that she
would not let him go hungry.
So he gave a little squeak, as if quite tired out, and put his head
still more on one side, and shut his eyes, and sat still. Now his
mother did not see him at all, for her back was turned, and she was
eating a fine caterpillar, having no idea of waiting on lazy birds who
were old enough to feed themselves.
But some one else did see Master Pecky! Richard Whittington, the great
gray cat, had come out to get his breakfast, too, and he saw the lazy
robin sitting still in the middle of the lawn with his eyes shut.
Richard could not have caught one of the others, for they all had their
wits about them, and their sharp black eyes glanced here and there, and
they were ready to take flight at a moment’s notice.
But Richard Whittington crept nearer and nearer to the lazy robin.
Suddenly—pounce! he went. There was a shrill, horrified squeak, and
that was the last of poor Pecky Robin.
The mother robin and her two other children flew up into the tree and
grieved bitterly for their lost Pecky, and the mother did not taste a
single worm for several hours.
But Richard Whittington enjoyed his breakfast exceedingly; and he was
as good-natured as possible all day, and did not scratch the baby once.