How the First Baby Cuckoo 
of work and bother, that she just went 
and disposed of all her eggs in the 
nests of other little birds, when they 
were not looking. And her husband 
tried so hard to say more than ‘cuckoo,’ 
or ‘cuck-cuckoo,’ that he got quite 
hoarse. Sometimes, when he thought 
of all his children being fed and brought 
up at the expense of his smaller neigh- 
bours, while they knew nothing about it 
and thought they were bringing up their 
own children, he would burst out into a 
hoarse, chuckling laugh. 
And so the summer passed. The 
fresh green leaves became by degrees 
darker and darker, and no _ longer 
looked fresh and bright ; the primroses 
and violets were followed by wild roses 
and foxgloves, and many other flowers. 
The meadow-sweet and elder diffused 
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