“James, James, where are you gone?” said Jesse Wright.
“Hush, Jesse, here I am, quite safe,” said James. “Pray do not make such
a noise.”
“What have you found there?” said Jesse, as she spied him out deep in
the thick rushes. “Shall I come to you?”
“No, no,” said James, “that you must not: I shall soon get out, and then
I will tell you what I have seen.”
“What can it be?” thought Jesse.
While James is making his way out, let me tell you what sort of a place
it was where he and Jesse were. There was a flat field, or marsh,
through the midst of which ran a small clear brook; tall grass and
rushes grew thick and close over this marsh, and many trees marked the
course of the stream. Jesse was on the edge of the marsh when first she
lost sight of James, who had heard the chirp of a bird which was new to
him, and had crawled into the sedge to look from whence it came.
“Well,” said Jesse, “so here you are at last. What a mess you are in!”
“I do not care for that,” said James, “for I have seen something worth a
sight, and it was the first of the kind I ever saw.”
“Make haste and say what it was,” said Jesse: “was it alive?”
“Oh, yes, to be sure,” said he.
“I thought,” said Jesse, “that only frogs and toads lived in the marsh.”
“Then you thought wrong,” said James: “but if you can be still, I will
tell you what it was. While I stood here with you I heard such a strange
chirp, and as I did not know what bird’s note it was, I thought I would
try and find the nest, (not to touch it or take the eggs, of course, but
just to have a look at it.) So I crept in very still, and went to the
place from whence the sound came. In a short time I was close to it, and
there I saw such a sweet little nest! it was made of the dead leaves of
the rush and sedge, and a few pieces of dry grass, and lined with the
soft tops of the reed. And, oh, Jesse! I wish you could have seen the
eggs; there were six of them, white, with small red spots all over; such
tiny things! On the stem of a reed, close by the nest, was the hen-bird,
and her mate was not far off; but the noise you made drove them away.”
“I did not mean to do harm, dear James,” said Jesse. “I wish I had been
with you, I would have been very still then. But what is the name of the
bird?”
“Why, it must be the reed-bird,” said James, “for I have seen a print of
one, and this was just like it; and I have read of it too. It eats the
seeds of the reed, and young snails, and flies.”
[Illustration: “On the stem of a reed, close by the nest, was the
hen-bird.”]
“How large is it, James?” said Jesse.
“It is quite a small bird; but from its thick coat, and long tail and
legs, looks as large as a red-breast. Its bill is very small.”
“Oh dear,” said Jesse, “did you feel that? was it not a drop of rain?”
“Yes, that it was,” said James, “and a large drop, too: I think it will
soon pour. Come, we must run home fast, or that dark cloud will catch
us.” So they set off, and just reached their papa’s door in time.