had caught in the same condition a few minutes 
before. An hour later they were joined by a 
cuckoo. The sailor gave them some _ bread 
crumbs, which they did not attempt to eat, and 
let them alone. Later he slipped a pan of water 
under the box and Longtoe drank some of it. 
All day and all the next night they were kept 
prisoners. 
The next morning another sailor, scrubbing 
down the deck, came to the box. He did not 
know there was anything under it, and when he 
picked it up the three birds at once flew away. 
Land was not very far off—they could see it 
plainly; but the robin was so weak from lack 
of food that I am certain he would never have 
gained the shore if the storm had not died out 
before this and a gentle breeze been blowing 
toward the land. As it was, he flew very slowly 
and the cuckoo, who seemed to be much stronger, 
was soon out of sight. What a hard time Long- 
toe had of it! With all his efforts to keep up he 
was constantly sinking closer to the water. 
Once indeed the spray from a wave wet him and 
he was nearly lost. At length he fell rather than 
73 
