THE HISTORY OF TIP-TOP. 37 



"Let's put him back into the nest, children," said 

 mamma. " His mother will know best what to do with 

 him." 



So a ladder was got, and papa climbed up and put poor 

 Tip-Top safely into the nest. The cat had shaken all the 

 nonsense well out of him ; he was a dreadfully humbled 

 young robin. 



The time came at last when all the other birds in the 

 nest learned to fly, and fluttered and flew about every- 

 where ; but poor melancholy Tip-Top was still confined to 

 the nest with a broken wing. Finally, as it became evi- 

 dent that it would be long before he could fly, Jamie 

 took him out of the nest, and made a nice little cage for 

 him, and used to feed him every day, and he would hop 

 about and seem tolerably contented ; but ~it was evident 

 that he would be a lame-winged robin all his days. 



I 



Jamie's mother told him that Tip-Top's history was an 



allegory. 



"I don't know what you mean, mamma," said Jamie. 



" When something in a bird's life is like something in a 

 boy's life, or when a story is similar in its meaning to 

 reality, we call it an allegory. Little boys, when they are 

 about half grown up, sometimes do just as Tip-Top did. 

 They are in a great hurry to get away from home into 

 the great world ; and then Temptation comes, with bright 



