90 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



wake you crying in the treetop, and you may 

 catch the sound of a squeaking wheelbarrow, or 

 the postman's whistle, or even a young rooster 

 just learning his first crow. A bird in our gar- 

 den has learned to mimic the graphophone very 

 well, giving the metallic ring. 



Of course, this nightly serenade annoys ner- 

 vous people who want to sleep, and they say 

 harsh things about the bird, behind his back. 

 But mocker goes on with his songs, just as if 

 everybody spoke well of him. If he thinks about 

 the matter at all, he may conclude that a person 

 might as well go on with his duty and pleasure 

 without stopping to care what other folks think of 

 him. 



The food of the mocking-birds is mostly in- 

 sects. They are expert fly-catchers, and will take 

 a butterfly on the wing or a grasshopper on the 

 jump quicker than a wink. They hunt for grubs 

 under the trees, and for fruit in the trees. They 

 get up early in the morning before our great, 

 striped Jerusalem crickets have gone back into 

 their holes. It is of no use for cricket to turn 

 over on his back when he sees a mocker coming 

 along; he may strike out his six legs and toes in 

 a very savage manner, after the custom of sand- 

 crickets, but he cannot frighten the mocker. 



