ROBERT ROBIN AND HIS FAMILY GO SOUTH
The next morning after Robert Robin and his family had stayed overnight
with Cousin Phineas, a heavy frost whitened the roofs of the buildings
and covered the fields with a carpet of frost diamonds. The white smoke
from the many chimneys of the city floated upward in great fluffy cones
until it seemed that the fluffy cones of snowy smoke were columns which
bound the city to the sky.
"What strange-looking clouds you have here in Elmira!" said Mrs. Robin
to Cousin Phineas.
"Yes! We have them go straight up so that we may fly between them!" said
Cousin Phineas. "But how about a little breakfast?"
"I was just thinking about the same thing!" said Robert Robin, "and
after our long trip, I am sure that we are hungry enough to eat almost
anything!"
"There are frozen apples in Arnot's orchard, frozen grapes on Sullivan
Hill, poison-ivy berries near Big Flats, and sumach bobs on the road to
Millport!" said Cousin Phineas. "So you may have your choice!"
"Let us try the sumach bobs!" said Mrs. Robin. "I have not tasted one
this season! They must be delicious after this hard frost!"
A railroad wound along the mountain side, and its right of way was lined
with sumach bushes whose upper twigs were red with the crimson bobs, and
it was here that Cousin Phineas brought Robert Robin's family.
"These are very fine sumach bobs!" said Robert Robin. "They are the
finest I ever tasted!"
"Their rich flavor comes from the engine smoke! This railroad has the
best smoke of any railroad in this part of the country! Nothing
improves the flavor of a sumach bob like nice black smoke!"
"I found a stone in my sumach bob!" shouted little Sheldon.
"Hush! Child! It is nothing but a cinder!" said Cousin Phineas. "And
cinders are good for coughs! But I would not eat too many of them. They
are hard to digest!"
When all the robins had eaten as many sumach bobs as they cared for,
Robert Robin said:
"Cousin Phineas, we have enjoyed our stay with you, but it is a long way
to the south, so we must hurry along!"
And Cousin Phineas said: "I wish that you had time to stay a week, but I
know that you must be in a hurry so I will not coax you to stay this
time, but now that you have found the way, you must come and see me
often. Be sure and stop when you come back in the Spring. You will find
me around here somewhere. I am planning to spend the winter in Elmira
and vicinity!"
"Good-by, Cousin Phineas!" said Robert Robin. "Good-by, Cousin
Phineas!" said all the rest, and away they flew into the sky, and soon
all that Cousin Phineas could see of them was ten tiny dots against a
high gray cloud.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!" went the sound of wings against the still, thin
air. Below Robert Robin and his family the valley of the river widened
into fertile farm lands. The glitter of the polished steel of the
railroad rails flashed to their eyes under the rays of the morning sun.
"This is going to be a fine day for our trip!" said Mrs. Robin.
"It couldn't be better!" said Robert Robin. "There is just enough breeze
to help in our flying; we should reach the great bay before night!"
The youngster robins were very much interested in seeing the new
country. The valley continued to widen beneath them, villages and cities
appeared, and great locomotives, puffing clouds of smoke, pulled long
trains, and pierced the air with screaming whistles; but what interested
the youngster robins still more were the other birds. Far above, and as
far as could be seen on either side, the air seemed alive with them.
There were crows, and thrushes, and flickers, and birds of many other
kinds. Large birds, small birds, big birds, and little birds. Black and
brown and gray and blue and yellow and red, and birds of all colors in
between.
Flying so high that they could not be seen from the earth, it looked to
the youngster robins as if all the birds in the world were going south
for the winter. Robins, robins, everywhere! Hundreds of them flying in
little family groups or mingled together in great flocks. Robert Robin
kept saying, "Kirk! Kirk!" so that none of the children would get lost.
"Keep close to your father, children!" said Mrs. Robin. "If you should
ever get lost in this crowd, we could no more find you again than we
could find Jim Crow on a dark night!"
A flock of wild geese called from overhead, and frightened little
Sheldon very much. They were such big birds; flying close together,
their powerful wings driving their heavy bodies swiftly through the air.
Their hoarse-voiced leader honked his loud calls as he led the line,
which, straight and true as a file of drilled soldiers, sweeping in
perfect formation a half mile on either side, was so different from
anything that little Sheldon had ever seen that the little robin
screamed, "Help! Help! Help! There comes a row of fat hawks!"
"Those are wild geese and they will not hurt you, child!" said Robert
Robin.
"What makes them fly so close together?" asked little Sheldon.
"They came from where the fog banks roll over the ice of the north!"
said Robert Robin, "and they have learned to fly closely together so
that they will not get lost from each other in the fogs."
The swift-winged geese were traveling much faster than the robins, and
soon they were far ahead of Robert Robin and his family.
"Why do they fly so fast?" asked Evelina.
"They have far to go!" answered Robert Robin, "and they must hurry or
they will be late in getting there!"
"There is our White Spring!" shouted Mrs. Robin. "Let us stop there a
while and get some new sand for our crops!"
So Robert Robin led his family down to the White Spring.
White Spring was a tiny little spring which gushed from the shady side
of a glen. There were no houses nor other buildings near, and very few
people knew that there was such a place as White Spring, but Robert
Robin's father had known of it and he had led Robert Robin to its tiny
basin, and Robert Robin had shown the spring to Mrs. Robin.
The tired robins were glad to drink of its clear cool water which gushed
out of the whitest sand.
"Fill your crops with this nice sharp sand, children!" said Mrs. Robin.
"You will need good sand in your crops to digest those Virginia bugs!"
So all the robins filled their crops with the fine white sand, then
Robert Robin sat down to rest.
"Do you remember the first time that I brought you to this spring?" he
asked Mrs. Robin.
"Oh, yes! Indeed I do!" said Mrs. Robin. "That was when we were on our
honeymoon!"
"There were many other robins around here then!" said Robert Robin. "Do
you remember that Miss Lena Robin you were so jealous of?" laughed
Robert Robin.
"I might have been jealous of her, but at least I was very polite to her
and was not rude like you were to that handsome young Mister Percival
Robin, whom you were so insanely jealous of! I remember your trying to
knock him into the spring, and raving around like mad! Why! You chased
him clear over that hill and you were simply too funny for anything, and
all because he was very polite to me and he _was_ rather good looking!"
said Mrs. Robin.
"Good looking?" said Robert Robin. "Good looking? Why! his head looked
like a woodpecker's, and his tail looked like a chickadee's, and his
legs were long enough for a killdeer!"
"That Miss Lena Robin, you were so infatuated with,----"
"Infatuated with?" screamed Robert Robin. "I barely remember how she
looked. But she was not so bad looking! She had pretty eyes, and a
charming manner, but what she could see about that long-legged Percival
is a mystery to me!"
"What he could see about her is a deeper mystery!" said Mrs. Robin, "but
let us not quarrel about those people,--they are nothing to me."
"Nor to me!" said Robert Robin. "Call the children and we will be on our
way!"
So Mrs. Robin called the youngster robins from the patch of bushes where
they had been playing I-spy, and all of them whirred away into the
higher air on their way to the warm south, and the sound of their wings
as they followed close behind Robert Robin went "Swish! Swish! Swish!"
like the panting of tiny engines.
THE END
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THE SUNNYBROOK SERIES
By MRS. ELSIE M. ALEXANDER
Cloth Bound, 12 mo. Jackets in Full Color Illustrations in Color Colored
End Papers, Illus.
A remarkably well told, instructive series of stories of animals, their
characteristics and the exciting incidents in their lives. Young people
will find these tales of animal life filled with a true and intimate
knowledge of nature lore.
THE HAPPY FAMILY OF BEECHNUT GROVE (PETER GRAY SQUIRREL AND FAMILY)
BUSTER RABBIT, THE EXPLORER (THE BUNNY RABBIT FAMILY)
ADVENTURES OF TUDIE (THE FIELD MOUSE)
TABITHA DINGLE (THE FAMOUS CAT OF SUNNYBROOK MEADOW)
ROODY AND HIS UNDERGROUND PALACE (MR. WOODCHUCK IN HIS HAPPY HOME)
BUFF AND DUFF (CHILDREN OF MRS. WHITE-HEN)
A. L. BURT COMPANY, Publishers
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET NEW YORK
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BLUE DOMERS
By JEAN FINLEY
Cloth Bound, 12 mo. Illustrations in Color
Jackets in Full Color Colored End Papers, Illus.
Vivid, refreshing stories of children and animals are always enjoyed by
young readers. These informative tales, dealing with the activities of a
number of children, are told with an ease and simplicity of style. The
combined charm of magic and the great out-doors adds a delightful touch
to these distinctive stories.
THE BLUE DOMERS
THE BLUE DOMERS' ALPHABET ZOO
THE BLUE DOMERS IN THE DEEP WOODS
THE BLUE DOMERS AND THE WISHING TREE
THE BLUE DOMERS UNDER WINTER SKIES
THE BLUE DOMERS AND THE MAGIC FLUTE
A. L. BURT COMPANY, Publishers
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET NEW YORK