"To-whit! To-whit! To-whee!
Will you listen to me?
Who stole four eggs I laid,
And the nice nest I made?"
"Not I," said the cow. "Oh, no;
Such a thing I'd never do;
I gave you a wisp of hay,
But didn't take your nest away."
"Coo, coo! said the dove,
I'll speak a word my love;
Who stole that pretty nest
From a little red-breast?"
"Not I," said the sheep. "Oh, no.
I wouldn't treat a poor bird so;
I gave wool the nest to line,
But the nest was none of mine."
[Illustration: Boy Carried Away By Crows.]
"Caw! Caw!" cried the crow,
"I should like to know
What thief took away
A bird's nest to-day."
"Cluck! Cluck!" said the hen,
Don't ask me again!
Why I hav'nt a chick
Would do such a trick.
We all gave her a feather,
And she wove them together;
I'd scorn to intrude
On her and her brood."
"Chirr-a-whirr! Chirr-a-whirr!
We will make a great stir;
Let us find out his name,
And all cry for shame!"
"I would not rob a bird,"
Said little Mary Green;
"I think I never heard
Of anything so mean."
"'Tis very cruel too,"
Said little Alice Neil:
"I wonder if he knew
How sad the bird would feel?"
A little boy hung down his head,
And hid his face, so crimson red;
For he stole that pretty nest
From little robin redbreast;
And he felt so full of shame,
I do not like to tell his name.
But during next week
Dressed in his Sunday best
This boy set out to seek
All for another nest.
He robbed a nest up high,
Suspended in a tree;
Two birds came through the sky,
What happened you can see.