started, and they were very proud of it. It was a great surprise to the
fairies, for they didn't know the robins had a band. As you can guess,
the robins had worked hard for a big surprise for the fairies. Ten
little robins played the drums, which were tiny twigs from the apple
tree. There were little spring leaves through which some of the others
whistled tunes, and the rest played on horn-shaped flowers.
"After the concert was finished and the fairies had clapped and
clapped and waved their wands with delight, and the little robins had
bowed and bowed--and fallen down, sometimes making too low bows--they
all had breakfast. Such a breakfast! The most luscious of worms were
given the little robins and a special dish was made for the fairies of
spring porridge, which Grandmother Robin had made, and which the
fairies called 'Delicious.'"
THE CROWS AT THE FAIRIES' BALL
[Illustration: They Promised to Wait on Guests.]
"The fairies had one of their fine balls just two evenings ago,"
said daddy.
"Among their guests were the brownies, elves, gnomes, many of the
birds, butterflies, humming-birds, red lizards, grasshoppers, and
crickets. The crickets had arranged to sing for the dancing and the
humming-birds said they would hum the tunes all the time that the
crickets sang. The robins sang some extra songs, and, of course, the
other birds joined in the chorus.
"Then came supper time. The table was made of daisies and moss, and such
delicacies! Well, it would have made your mouth water!
"They had the goodies that every guest would enjoy most. Not a guest
was forgotten. There were even little worms for the birds--and the
other guests didn't mind at all, as they knew the robins and orioles
and other bird guests loved little worms. They were given to the birds
in special dishes made of grass.
"But just as all the guests sat down to supper the fairy queen said:
'Come, all my fine waiters!' And as she said this she waved her wand
high in the air.
"Then from far and near the blackest of black crows flew down and
alighted all around the table. They had promised the fairy queen to be
just as good as good could be, and to wait on all the guests before
they had anything at all to eat. They were quite willing to do this,
for they had never been invited to a ball given by the fairies before
and they were highly flattered.
"They all had had their black suits polished and brushed with the
greatest care and they wore very fine aprons and hats made of green
leaves. Every time a guest said 'Thank you' when anything was passed, a
crow would say, 'Caw-caw,' which means 'You're welcome.'
"The crows always say 'Caw-caw' to almost everything, but it is just
the tone they use that makes the 'Caw-caw' mean something quite
different each time they want it to. At the end of the supper, after the
crows had had a feast, too, the fairy queen asked them if they wouldn't
sing the old, old song about blackbirds being baked in a pie.
"At first the crows looked a bit sad, but then they said: 'Why, of
course, we'll be happy to sing it. It's lots of fun to sing about such
things after we have had a feast and know quite well that the fairy
queen wouldn't bake us in a pie.'
"How the guests did laugh to hear the crows singing about blackbirds
being baked in a pie--and stopping every minute to shout out, 'Not us,
though, oh, no!'--and the fairy queen was delighted."
THE NAUGHTY LITTLE SICK SNOWBIRD
[Illustration: The Bird Began to Recover.]
Daddy had been encouraging Jack and Evelyn to feed the little birds
that came outside the window. So one evening when it was time for
their story he told them about the Christmas a little snowbird had
had the year before.
"He was a very self-willed little fellow," commenced daddy, "and he
thought no one knew so much about life as he did. During the autumn he
had become very chummy with the sparrows. His daddy and mother didn't
like that much, as they were afraid he would become as rude and noisy as
the sparrows were.
"When the cold weather came the snowbirds decided to leave, but the
little wilful snowbird was nowhere to be found. 'Where could he have
gone?' asked Mother Snowbird, and daddy said, 'Oh, probably he left this
morning with the robins and wrens, for I saw him playing with them!'
That eased Mother Snowbird's fears, and off they started.
"When the little snowbird saw that his family had flown away he came out
from his hiding-place. He really felt a little homesick and was sorry he
hadn't gone, too; but, of course, he didn't dare admit it, for the
sparrows had told him only stupid children were obedient. They admired
his naughty disobedience and thought it was a great joke to worry his
family.
"A few weeks went by, and the days became colder and colder. One night
he felt so cold and so unhappy that he flew away from the sparrows,
expecting to die any moment.
"The next morning he was found, half dead, by a little girl. She took
him in her house, warmed his frozen feet and fed him bits of crumbs and
drops of water. Slowly he began to recover.
"It was the day before Christmas, and he was perched on the window-sill
in the sun, when, to his huge joy, he saw Daddy and Mother Snowbird
outside the window. He flew against the window-glass. The little girl
came rushing into the room to see what the trouble was. She was sure
from his joyous actions that the other two snowbirds were his daddy and
mother, so she opened the window, and the little bird flew out.
"'Oh, dear, we've been so frightened!' said Mother Snowbird.
"'Yes,' said Daddy Snowbird; 'we've been on ever so many trips looking
for you, but now we'll hurry down home and fly fast, so as not to get
cold, and then we'll be there in time for Christmas day. All the little
birds will be there waiting for the Christmas party.'
"You may be quite sure the little snowbird never had a happier
Christmas, and he realized that the older birds knew what was best
for him."
A SPARROW CALLS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS
[Illustration: Mr. Hippopotamus Was Having His Bath.]
"The hippopotamus who lived in the zoo had a very strange caller the
other day," said daddy.
"Into the animal house flew a sparrow. The keeper called out to him:
"'Where are you going, sparrow?' But the sparrow did not answer. He flew
right through the animal house until he reached Mr. Hippopotamus' cage.
Mr. Hippopotamus was having his bath, and he would not be interrupted.
"The sparrow was rather annoyed that Mr. Hippopotamus didn't want to
come right out of the water to talk to him, and he scolded from his
perch on the wire of the cage. There he sat scolding away, and the
hippopotamus kept on splashing and spluttering as he took his bath.
"Soon the hippopotamus came up from the water and sat in the corner of
his cage, and the sparrow hopped over to a wire a little nearer.
"'Mr. Sparrow, I am sorry to be late for your call,' said the
hippopotamus, 'but the truth is I wanted to look my best.' And his
great, long, funny old face grinned, and he showed his big teeth.
"'That's all right,' cheerfully chirped the sparrow. 'I have plenty of
time to-day. My family have gone a-shopping for bread crumbs which they
find every day in a certain back-yard. And I have nothing to do. I've
come to tell you the news of the world outside.'
"So the sparrow told Mr. Hippopotamus all about the wild scampers the
sparrows had been having. He told about their quarrels and how they had
made up again. And he bragged about their friends and relations, the
song sparrows, who had been very friendly this year.
"When Mr. Sparrow began to be boastful, the old hippopotamus said:
"'You think I'm finer than my cousins in that cage over there?' And Mr.
Hippopotamus pointed to some other members of his family. They were very
much smaller and their coats looked just like chocolate. 'And,' he went
on, 'when the children see those silly cousins of mine they always say,
"Why, they look just like tins of chocolate taffy left to cool." They
never can say anything quite so stupid about me.'
"'Well,' said Mr. Sparrow, 'I must be off now, as it's time the bread
crumbs and the family were coming home.' He spoke about the bread crumbs
first, you notice. 'But I'll come and see you soon again, old hippo,'
and the little sparrow flew off."
THE ROBINS COME TO THE RESCUE
[Illustration: Saving the Little Birds from Danger.]
The honeysuckles were beginning to bud. Already the humming-birds were
hovering near and had built a nest right in the heart of the vine. This
vine was in a nice old-fashioned garden, but near by there was a vacant
lot which was very swampy.
"You know the garden by the vacant lot?" began daddy.
"Yes," replied both children, "are you going to tell us a story
about that garden?"
"I am going to tell you," said daddy, "about the mother humming-bird
whose little ones were attacked by a cruel snake when they were rescued
by the brave robins.
"The snake had come over from the vacant field and had crawled up the
honeysuckle vine as the mother humming-bird had gone off for some food.
Some robins hovering near had seen the awful snake. They had cried out
in terror and had flown over to the nest.
"The mother humming-bird heard the cries and hurried back, but the
robins had frightened off the snake. The snake was not a very large one,
and really he had been frightened by all the noise the robins had made,
and when he saw so many birds flying toward him he got away very
quickly.
"The mother humming-bird got back just as the snake was leaving the
nest.
"She couldn't thank the robins enough for flying to the rescue and
saving her beloved little ones, but the robins didn't want any thanks.
They were thankful, too, that the dear little birds had been saved, for
birds are very loyal to one another and will risk any danger to save
each other."
"I am so glad," said Evelyn, "that the little humming-birds were saved,
for I love to see them having such a good time in the honeysuckle vines,
and the more there are of them the nicer it makes the summer seem."
"It was brave of the robins to come to the rescue, though, wasn't it,
daddy?"
"Indeed it was," said daddy; "but almost all animals and birds will
do anything they can to help one another, and they seem to forget
that there is such a thing as being afraid if they see any creature
in danger or distress.
"After the mother humming-bird had recovered from the awful fright, and
after the little ones had shown that they were perfectly well and
strong, with no ill effects from their fright, the mother humming-bird
invited the robins to partake of the delicious meal she had succeeded in
getting before the cries came from the robins."
[Illustration: "THE MOTHER HUMMING-BIRD HURRIED BACK."--_Page 95_]
MR. AND MRS. OWL'S STOREROOM
[Illustration: Waited on All Who Came.]
"Two owls," commenced daddy, "lived in a soft feathered nest in the big
woods. After a time they got a little tired of talking and scolding and
hunting and midnight parties, so Mrs. Owl, who was always saving odds
and ends, thought it would make them very rich and happy if they had a
store.
"'What,' said Mr. Owl, 'a store?'
"'Yes,' replied Mrs. Owl, as she smoothed her feathers and polished
her back with a bit of bark. 'It will be not only a store, but a
supper-room.'
"'Whatever do you mean?' said Mr. Owl.
"'You know,' continued Mrs. Owl, 'that in the world where people
live they have parties. There is nothing new about that. Don't we
have parties? Yes.'
"Mrs. Owl always answered all her own questions when she had something
most important to say, and when she did not want to have anyone
interrupt her or disagree with her.
"'And so, if we have parties in the woods, think what a great help it
will be to all the wood animals and the fairies and brownies and gnomes
if we have a supper-room attached to our store--where after the parties
the wood creatures can come and have supper.'
"Mr. Owl sat up very straight and said, 'To-wit, to-who,' or it sounded
very much like that. What he meant was that he thought it an excellent
scheme. And he went on to tell Mrs. Owl that she could fix up all the
dishes for the supper and decorate the tables--and he would go forth and
hunt for the good things to eat.
"The store was started right away. The animals came to buy their things
in the daytime--and as Mr. and Mrs. Owl were asleep they would simply
take them away and not pay for them at the time.
"That didn't bother Mr. and Mrs. Owl at all, though. They wanted to
have such a fine store that all their things would be taken, and they
left notes for the little animals saying:
"'Take all you like. We must sleep and think up more wonderful things to
do for you. As for pay--we don't want it. We're already to be envied for
our knowledge. We don't even have to go to school--and are always
cleverer than those who do go!'
"The animals were much amused at the conceit of Mr. and Mrs. Owl, but
they had to admit that their store was a great success. And as for
their supper-room--it was perfect!
"Every evening it was very gay, with the chatter of many of the wood
animals and the fairies, after different parties and frolics. Mrs. Owl
made the most delicious goodies, and always made the tables look very
attractive with wild flowers.
"As for Mr. Owl, he put on a big white apron and a white hat and waited
on all who came to the supper-room, and often he would make wise, wise
speeches for the benefit of all around him."
POLLY WAS THE HEROINE OF THE FIRE
[Illustration: Shrieked at the Top of Her Lungs.]
Jack and Evelyn had been to see a friend of theirs who owned a parrot.
The parrot, whose name, of course, was Polly, had completely fascinated
them. She could dance when a tune was whistled, she took sugar from her
mistress's mouth, and she could talk. She could say: "Pretty Polly,"
"Polly, want a cracker?" "Polly hungry," "Polly, want a bite?"
So when daddy came home that evening, of course Jack and Evelyn told
him all about the parrot, and later he told them a story about another
parrot.
"In a small town," said daddy, "a little girl named Alice owned a pet
parrot who was very clever. This parrot could talk a great deal and say
ever so much more than just 'Polly, want a cracker?' This Polly could
whistle, too, most beautifully, and could do a great, great many
wonderful tricks. Of course, as you can imagine, Alice was very proud of
her parrot, and Polly was devoted to Alice.
"One night when every one in the town was fast asleep a fire broke out
in a deserted barn, and, as there was a high wind, it began to spread.
The house nearest the fire was the one in which Alice lived, and Polly
Parrot was the first to smell the smoke. She shrieked at the top of her
lungs, 'Fire, fire!' and the whole household came rushing downstairs and
found the library, where Polly was, full of smoke.
"They put on coats and, grabbing Polly's cage, rushed out of the house
as quickly as they could, for the flames were beginning to break through
on all sides. Alice's daddy rushed off to ring the fire bell, while
Alice, carrying her Polly Parrot, and her mother followed along. Soon
every one in the town was up and out in the street. The firemen managed
to keep the fire from spreading, and they saved all the valuable things
in Alice's home.
"As everyone stood around watching the firemen throwing the water on the
fire Polly kept calling out: 'It's pretty hot! It's pretty hot! I tell
you it's pretty hot!' That amused everyone, so that it kept up their
spirits during the awful fire.
"At last, however, the firemen succeeded in putting the fire out, and
one of the neighbors invited Alice and her mother and daddy to stay at
her house, and, of course, Polly Parrot went along too.
"Polly was now not only considered a very clever bird, but a real
heroine, for she had awakened Alice and her family and saved their lives
and also the lives of many others, for with such a wind many houses
would have gone had not the firemen been called out just when they were.
"Instead of being vain about it, Polly Parrot acted as though her one
pride was that Alice was more devoted to her than ever."
THE WINTER HOME FOR THE WREN FAMILY
[Illustration: All the Little Boys Helped.]
"A number of little boys living in a small town were very much
interested in carpentry," said daddy. "They made boxes and chairs and
tables and all sorts of things.
"They had a nice tool shop in an unused barn belonging to the daddy of
one of the little boys.
"In the late autumn one of the little boys, who was very fond of birds
and especially so of the house wren, suggested that they should build
some little bird houses under the low roof of the barn.
"So all the little boys helped because they thought it was such a nice
plan."
"What is a house wren?" inquired Evelyn.
"A house wren," said daddy, "shows his difference from other wrens by
having black and gray lines on his brown back. His tiny tail points
upward and his breast is grayish white. He is very friendly and loves to
keep the same home.
"Now, the boys had noticed that one family of wrens had built a nest on
the side of this same barn two summers. They had flown away when the
cold weather came each time.
"The boys built a fine little house with great care and watched to see
if the wrens would go to it. And, sure enough, they did! Apparently they
thought it was a beautiful house, although they, of course, wished to
furnish it in their own way."
"How did they furnish it?" asked Jack.
"They filled it with twigs, and in the center of the house they put
masses of dried grass and twigs.
"The boys were interested watching the wrens, and the wrens seemed
perfectly happy. There were no sparrows near by. They saw that the boys
were friendly, and they found the wooden house kept out the cold air.
"Week after week passed, and still the wrens didn't show any desire to
move to a warmer place. On the very coldest day they would come out,
flit about, hop and bow, and be as energetic as possible.
"Of course the boys never touched the house after they'd built it, for
the wrens then would have left, and the wrens made their front door
so small that a sparrow couldn't possibly have gone inside and bothered
the little ones.
"You can imagine how delighted the boys were; and to keep the wrens from
feeling homesick for a warmer home, each day they'd scatter crumbs
around near the wrens' home, then watch the wrens hop down and take them
up to the nest, and the wrens seemed to be very happy when they saw the
boys. They acted as if they knew and appreciated that the boys had built
them such a fine home."
THE VAIN GOLDFINCH LEARNS A LESSON
[Illustration: He Hid His Face in Shame.]
"Mr. Goldfinch," said daddy, "was very conceited and proud of himself.
To be sure, a goldfinch's voice is very much like a canary's--but it's
not quite so lovely--and he can't do the wonderful trills a canary can
without his voice cracking. Of course, that isn't beautiful.
"So the fairy queen made plans. First of all, she asked the birds to
give her a concert, and gladly they all said they would.
"And the next day, on a row along the fence of an old country road, near
the woods, perched all the bullfinch family, the oriole family, the
bluejay family, the indigo bird family, and the goldfinch family.
"First of all they all sang in a beautiful chorus, and the fairy queen
and all the fairies were delighted.
"Before long the elves happened along by the old fence, and they said:
"'What's up? A concert? May we stay?'
"'By all means,' said the fairy queen, and then she whispered to the
elves her secret. The elves sat along the opposite fence and perched on
the fence between some of the birds, too.
"When the birds had finished singing in the chorus and were not
supposed to sing by themselves, they flew to the wings of the fairies
and perched there.
"You can imagine how lovely the fairies did look, with their bright
silver wings, and the beautiful birds with their bright colors perched
everywhere on the wings.
"'Now,' said the fairy queen, 'remember what I've asked for.'
"At that Mr. Bullfinch came out and sang in his sweet little way. He
didn't try to sing anything very big or hard, but he sang a little,
simple song, in the very best way he could.
"Soon Mr. Goldfinch came out to sing his solo. At first his song was
very fine and all the other birds cried, 'Bravo,' 'Wonderful,'
'Gorgeous,' at the end of the first verse. And they all sang these words
in their own little bird ways.
"But at the beginning of the second verse Mr. Goldfinch tried to sing a
trill that was too hard for him.
"And what do you suppose happened? Mr. Goldfinch's voice cracked, and
all the birds tittered and flew off the fence, chatting with each other.
"'Well, wasn't that a disgrace--and at the fairy queen's concert, too!'
"As for Mr. Goldfinch, he hid his head in shame and felt very wretched,
but the fairy queen waved her wand, and said to every one: 'This concert
was given so Mr. Goldfinch would learn to be natural and not try things
beyond him. We all like you as you are, without silly, vain
actions--sing us a simple song now, and we'll forgive you!'
"So Mr. Goldfinch learned he mustn't try to copy the canary."
THE BATS HAVE A JOLLIFICATION
[Illustration: How the Bats do Love the Night!]
"The bats are all so glad the summer has come," said daddy. "For a
long, long time they have been staying in the caves and hiding away in
the tops of the corners and crevices. But last night they had their
first real jollification.
"One of the bats had said it was high time to go out into the world, but
another bat had said it was still too chilly. Then a bat said:
"'Well, what have we wings for?' And after that it was decided that
they should be off.
"They waited until it began to grow dark--and then some of the ones who
hadn't been sleeping very well got up and flew about a little while.
"Then the others who had been sound asleep woke up just as it became
very, very dark. Oh, how the bats do love the night! They love it just
as much as the birds love the daytime and the sun. For, though bats have
wings, they are not at all like birds and they aren't in the least
friendly with any of them.
"So off they started on the jollification. First they whizzed through
the air practising their different ways of flying. And after they had
all the strength back into their wings, they reached the garden of an
old, deserted house, where they stopped for the rest of the night.
"There they told stories and chatted and chatted. For they had a great
deal to say after their long sleep, and they ran races, and did tricks,
and frightened people they saw coming along the road.
"They would get so near that each person would say:
"'Oh, dear me, I must cover up my head or that bat will get caught
in my hair.'
"The bats thought that was a great joke, as they had no intentions of
caging themselves up in someone's hair when they could be at the
jollification. But they did enjoy playing pranks on the grownups.
"And soon, much too soon, daylight came.
"But what do you suppose happened? Such a wonderful ending to their
jollification! Didn't those thoughtful little brownies, who had known
all about the bats' jollification--and feeling rather sorry for the bats
because they don't have such very good times--send some magic air-boats
which picked up the sleepy bats as they flew along. Then they were
carried back to their cold, hard beds in the crevices of the
rocks--which they thought were so comfortable!
"And as they crept into bed, there were never so many happy bats and
pleased bats as these were at having had air-boats bring them home
from their jollification!"
THE REPENTANCE OF LITTLE JIM CROW
[Illustration: Jim Ducked Him in the Brook.]
"Little Jim Crow had been very naughty," began daddy. "He had been
bullying Sammy Crow for some time past simply because Sammy was not so
large and not so strong as he was. Jim Crow was quite a leader, too, in
a very mean way, for he'd tried to influence a lot of other little crows
to think it was smart to tease Sammy.
"Well, one day Jim got hold of Sammy and ducked his head into a brook of
very cold water, where the ice had only recently melted.
"Poor Sammy was so frightened he almost cried his eyes out, while Jim
stood by and laughed and laughed. But Sammy was far from being strong,
and the cold water made his head throb and ache, while his bones felt
numb and his feathers lost their nice shiny look. He complained so much
for several days of his head that his family sent for old Dr. Crow.