2 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS 
about in a field that a river was winding through, 
and supposing you were sitting there too, amongst 
the daisies and buttercups in the bright summer sun- 
shine, and looking at them, and supposing all at once 
there was a little dancing dot of light far away down 
the river, and that it came gleaming and gleaming 
along, getting nearer and nearer and keeping just in 
the middle all the time, till it passed you like a 
sapphire sunbeam, like a star upon a bird’s wings, 
then I am sure you would look and look at it all the 
time it was coming, and look and look after it all 
the time it was going away, and when at last it was 
quite gone you would sit wondering, forgetting 
about the butterflies, and thinking only of that star- 
bird, that little jewelly gem. But, perhaps, if you 
were to see a Purple Emperor sweeping along—ah, 
he is a very magnificent butterfly, is the purple em- 
peror. You can tell that from his name, but whether 
he is guife so magnificent as a star-bird (for that is 
what we will call the Kingfisher)—well, it is not so 
easy to decide. The birds and the butterflies are 
both beautiful, there is no doubt about that, only 
this little book is about beautiful birds, and perhaps 
afterwards there will be another one about beautiful 
butterflies. That will be quite fair to both. 
The birds, then! We will talk about them. 
I am going to tell you about some of the most beau- 
