THE NEW TENANTS. 



BY ELANORA KINSLEY MARBLE. 



And now the little Wrens are fledged 

 And strong enough to fly; 



Wide their tiny wings they spread, 

 And bid the nest "good-bye." 



Such a chattering as greeted Mrs. 

 Wren when she returned with a fine 

 black spider in her bill. All the 

 children talked at once. Bobbie alone 

 never uttered a word. 



" You naughty boy," exclaimed 

 Mrs. Wren, turning to the crest-fallen 

 Pierre, " did I not tell you to take care 

 of your brothers and little sister ? The 

 idea of trying to fly before you have had 

 a lesson! I have a good mind to whip 

 every one of you," and the irate Mrs. 

 Wren very unjustly did indeed peck 

 every little head sharply with her bill. 



Bobbie cowered in the nest much 

 too frightened to whimper or even 

 mention the injury to one of his legs 

 which he had sustained in his fall. 



Mr. and Mrs. Wren the next day 

 proceeded to give the children a lesson 

 or two in flying. 



" My tail is so stubby," wailed Em- 

 mett at the first trial, " it brings me 

 right down to the ground." 



" Tho doth mine," lisped little Dor- 

 othy, " dess wish I had no tail at all, 

 so I do," at which the others laughed 

 very heartily. 



Bobbie made a heroic effort to do as 

 did the rest, but at the first movement 

 sank back into the nest with a cry of 

 pain. 



" Such fortitude ! " exclaimed Mrs. 

 Wren when it was found one of his 

 legs was broken, " not a whimper has 

 the little fellow made since his fall. 

 How heroic ! How like my dear, dear 

 papa ! " and Mrs. Wren laughed, and 

 then cried, from mingled pity and joy. 



" H'm," commented Mr. Wren, "if 

 Bobbie had remembered the motto I 

 gave them before I left yesterday 

 morning, this accident wouldn't have 



happened. Can you repeat it ? '' turn- 

 ing to the eldest of the brood. 



" Be sure you're right, then go 

 ahead," shouted Pierre, totally forget- 

 ting he had not heeded the rule any 

 more than Bobbie. 



" Yes, a safe rule to go by," said 

 Mr. Wren, gravely stroking his chin 

 with one claw. "Dear, dear," ruefully 

 examining the injured limb, "now the 

 the child will go stumping through 

 life like his grandpa. I only hope," 

 with a dry cough, " that he'll not turn 

 out a rowdy and lose one eye, too." 



" ' He jests at scars who never felt a 

 wound, '"loftily replied Mrs. Wren, who 

 seemed never to forget a quotation. 

 " For my part I am proud that one of 

 my boys should turn out to be such a 

 spirited little fellow. But there, Mr. 

 Wren, the children are calling you 

 from that bunch of weeds over yonder. 

 Go down to them, while I fetch a nice 

 canker-worm for Bobbie." 



After a few days the lame Bobbie 

 was able to leave the nest and go hop- 

 ping around with the other children, 

 adding his feeble chur chur to theirs. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Wren led them from one 

 place to another, always among the 

 w r eeds and shrubbery where they were 

 soon taughtto earn theirown livelihood. 



" Moths, butterflies, gnats, flies, 

 ants, beetles, and bugs constitute our 

 bill of fare," said Mrs. Wren as they 

 went whisking along, " together with 

 thousand-legs, spiders, and worms. If 

 we didn't eat them they would destroy 

 the fruits in their seasons, so you see, 

 my children, what valuable citizens we 

 are in the world." 



At nightfall Mr. and Mrs. Wren, 

 with their brood, flew to the crotch of 



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