his tenants, I am sure, so sit here and 

 croon a hillaby to the baby while I go 

 to market. I heard of a place yester- 

 day where I can get some of those 

 delicious thousand legs of which you 

 are so fond. Ta, ta, love," and away 

 he flew, fully alive to the fact of 

 another mouth in the home-nest to 

 feed. 



Every day for six, a little yellow 

 bill pecked its way out of the shell, 

 and every day a delighted and curious 

 group of children peeked into the tin- 

 pot at the nervous Mrs. Wren and her 

 family. 



" Their eyes look so big, and so do 

 their mouths," she lamented after one 

 of these visits. " I am always re- 

 minded of that story our landlady one 

 afternoon told the children." 



"What story?" tenderly inquired 

 Mr. Wren. 



" Of the wolf and Little Red Riding 

 Hood. Ugh! imagine anything eating 

 up our dear little Dorothy ! " and Mrs. 

 Wren stood on her feet, fluffed her 

 feathers in a pretty motherly way and 

 gathered her brood more closely under 

 her. 



Very little time, now, had Mr. 

 Wren to spare for singing or flying 

 about with his neighbors, so occupied 

 were he and Mrs. Wren in providing 

 food for their family. 



" There is precious little fun in this 

 sort of thing," growled he one day 

 when paying a brief visit to Mr. John 

 and his spouse. " One can never go 

 near the nest but open fly six red 

 mouths asking for food. Its peep, 

 peep, peep, from morning till night ; 

 hurry, hurry, hurry, eat and bring up 

 again ; to cram, cram, cram down six 



long, red throats the whole day long. 

 There are some days," with a sigh, 

 " when I really long to be a bachelor 

 again." 



" Oh, you do," said Mrs. John, with 

 a meaning glance at her husband, 

 " There are other fathers of families, I 

 dare say, Mr. Wren, who, if they dared 

 would say the same thing. But," 

 smoothing her apron, " you have such 

 a shiftless creature for a wife that I 

 don't much wonder. Jenny, I pre- 

 sume, stays at home and lets you do 

 all the fetching and carrying.'' 



" Indeed," replied Mr. Wren, who 

 wished he had not complained at all, 

 " you are very much mistaken, Mrs. 

 John. Jenny can find more grubs, 

 worms, and beetles in one minute than 

 I can in ten. She is always on the go, 

 and seldom complains, though I must 

 admit she does a deal of scolding." 



" She wouldn't be a member of our 

 family if she didn't," proudly said Mrs. 



John, " my mother " but Mr. 



Wren, who had heard that story a 

 score of times, suddenly remembered 

 Mrs. Jenny would be expecting him at 

 home, said " good-by " and hastily flew 

 away. 



Pierre, the first born, was now old 

 enough to fly, but timidly stayed 

 in the nest. Mrs. Wren noted with 

 great anxiety that no sooner did she 

 leave the tin-pot but up popped six 

 little heads, and out upon a curious 

 world gazed twelve little bead-like 

 eyes. 



" Do be good children while I am 

 gone," she would entreat, when ready 

 for market, " do keep your heads in- 

 side of the house. Pierre, put your 

 head down in the nest instantly, do 



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