The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



get a glimpse of Glory's beautiful red coat, the clear, 

 sweet whistle sounded once more. It drew Peter's 

 eyes to one of the upper branches, but instead of 

 the beautiful, brilliant coat of Glory the Cardinal 

 he saw a bird about the size of Welcome Robin 

 dressed in sober ashy-gray with two white bars on 

 his wings, and white feathers on the outer edges of 

 his tail. He was very trim and neat and his tail 

 hung straight down after the manner of Brownie's 

 when he was singing. It was a long tail, but not as 

 long as Brownie's. Even as Peter blinked and 

 stared in surprise the stranger opened his mouth 

 and from it came Glory's own beautiful whistle. 

 Then the stranger looked down at Peter, and his 

 eyes twinkled with mischief. 



"Fooled you that time, didn't I, Peter?" he 

 chuckled. "You thought you were going to see 

 Glory the Cardinal, didn't you?" 



Then without waiting for Peter to reply, this 

 sober-looking stranger gave such a concert as no 

 one else in the world could give. From that won- 

 derful throat poured out song after song and note 

 after note of Peter's familiar friends of the Old 

 Orchard, and the performance wound up with a 

 lovely song which was all the stranger's own. Peter 

 didn't have to be told who the stranger was. It 

 was Mocker the Mockingbird. 



"Oh !" gasped Peter. "Oh, Mocker, how under 

 [226] 



