_How Opal and the Little Birds from the Great Tree Have a Happy Time
at the House of Dear Love._
When I was come home from school this afternoon, first I did go to
the wood-shed to carry in wood. I saw there was some new bran in
the bran-sack-box. That box is a big box. I make climbs up on it
sometimes to have thinks. And Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus makes
a climb up too. Then I get down and make a pile of wood high enough
so Brave Horatius can make a jump climb up. We have likes for that
big bran-sack-box. Jenny Strong says why we do have likes for that
box is because it is a hard box to get up on. But we do get up on
it often. Sometimes I do eat my bowl of bread and milk for supper
there on the bran-sack-box.
There is another box in the wood-shed. In that other box is a sack
of wheat. In morning-time a little bit of it goes with the scraps
to feed the chickens. In evening before gray-light-time more wheat
from that sack goes to feed the chickens. And the chickens do have
likes for that wheat from that sack in that box. I strew it on the
ground for them in swings. I swing my arm a long swing and then a
short swing. When I do swing it a long swing the wheat goes far.
When I swing it a short swing it goes not so. It goes only a little
ways. To-day I did swing my arm four long swings and three short
swings and two more long swings. The chickens were glad to have it
so. They did pick up that wheat in a hurry way.
Then I went into the kitchen to get the egg-turner to pat the dirt
down good around that tomato plant that’s been dabbling its toes in
the brook and is now planted again. Just when I got it most patted
down right, so it looked real proper--just then the mamma stepped
behind me. She turned me over her knee. She would n’t listen to
explanations. She just applied that egg-turner to the back part of
me. Now I feel too much sore to sit down, so I lean over a stump to
print this. I have thinks I will go goes to the house of Dear Love.
I so did. I went through the near woods and into the far woods. In
my going I went by where the man of the long step that whistles
most all of the time does gather ferns for the _pensée_ girl with
the far-away look in her eyes. There little ferns grow tall and big
ferns grow very tall. And sunbeams and shadows are among them before
gray-light-time. It is the same place where the man that wears gray
neckties and is kind to mice did dig up little ferns to make fern
wishes to the fairies when I put letters in the moss-box by the
old log. But now we dig not up little ferns here. We find them in
another place. We have feels the fairies would like it, and these
ferns grow there for the _pensée_ girl with the far-away look in
her eyes. Often it is now she is come to visit her aunt of the gray
calico dress with a black bow at its neck.
After I did say a little prayer at the growing-place of the little
tall ferns and the very tall ferns, I did go on. I went on along a
winding path that goes in between old logs. I went a little way. I
did hear a little squeal. I did look looks about. There was Solomon
Grundy coming after me just as quick as he could come. His little
legs did bring him in a quick way. I made a stop to wait for him. He
was joys all over when he did come up by me. He did jump upon me. And
his squeals were squeals of gladness. Then we did go on together.
We went on. As we so did, I did sing to him one of the songs Angel
Father did teach me to sing. Every day I do sing him one of them.
To-day I did sing him _un chant des fleurs, de fête, d’oncle_, of
_souci et eglantine et pensée et tulipe et quintefeuille et ulmaire
et apalachine et tournesol et romarin et éclaire_. He did grunt
grunts in-between times.
When we were come to the house of Dear Love, they were standing by
the steps. The husband of Dear Love did bring home to her a little
nest that was in a tree that they did fall in the far woods to-day.
The nest it was a long nest. Its longness was very long. I have
thinks when the wind did go through the woods sometimes this cradle
did swing. Its largeness was so long. The husband of Dear Love did
think these little birds were most ready to fly from the nest when
the tree did fall to-day. All the six little birds but one did get
death as the tree did fall. They were such little things when we did
take them out. The one live one was hungry. And we did feed him. We
did feed him little bits at a time--a little bit of egg that was left
in the dinner-pail of the husband of Dear Love, did give to this
little bird some satisfaction feels. Dear Love did cuddle it warm
in her hands, and her husband did make the piece of egg into little
divides for me to give to it. It did open its mouth most wide.
When I so did see it do, I did open my mouth too, like it did. The
husband of Dear Love did laugh. I did have asking of him why he did
laugh, for it was not thoughtful to laugh at the little hungry bird
that did have so hungry feels and lonesome ones. He did say in his
gentle way that it was not at the little bird he did laugh. He did
say he just did laugh sometimes when he had thinks about things at
work. I told him it was nice he had thoughtfuls of the nest that
they saw in the tree after it did fall. He said he thought of me
and that made him think it would be nice to bring the nest home,
and he broke off another piece of egg for the little bird. And more
he so did. And every time I did drop a piece of egg into the mouth
of the little bird, I did open my mouth wide, too, from seeing the
bird do it.
When it was full of satisfaction feels, Dear Love did fix it all up
nice in a warm little box. She is going to give it careful cares
so it will grow up. She has asked me to pick out a name for it. I
am so going to do. And to-morrow I am going to have the funerals of
the other five little birds that did get death as the tree did fall.
Dear Love gave me white soft pieces to wrap them in and the husband
of Dear Love says he will make the tombstones for their graves. I
am going to bury them at Dreux by Blaise. There will they rest. On
to-morrow it so will be.
To-night when I was come home, I took the pillow from my bed to sit
on at the supper-table because the back part of me did feel so sore
from that spanking the mamma gave me with the egg-turner out in the
garden to-day.
After supper-time I did have seeing out the window of the night. It
was calling, “Petite Françoise, come, petite Françoise.” I went. Brave
Horatius followed after. We went adown the path. A big silver yellow
ball was coming up over the hill. We made a stop. I did climb on a
rock to watch its coming. Brave Horatius put his nose by my hand.
I gave him pats. He looked up at me. I told him, “C’est la pleine
lune.” We went on. We went on to the hill where its coming was.