How the First Baby Cuckoo 
of them; but he would trample down 
the weaker ones and sit on them with- 
out mercy. And at last, one day when 
they were struggling for the best place, 
he got his broad beak under one of the 
others, and, raising himself on his feet, 
tipped the unfortunate little bird right 
out of the nest, so that it fell down to 
the ground out of sight amid the 
thick growth of grass and plants of all 
sorts, where it died miserably. 
But the mother hedge-sparrow never 
missed it, but went on giving all the 
best bits to this cruel child of Mr. and 
Mrs. Cuckoo.  By-and-by he tipped 
out another little one, and then another, 
until he had the whole nest to himself, 
and so big had he grown by now that 
he filled it up completely. Mrs. Hedge- 
sparrow thought there never was such a 
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