below it and all the time chirruping, 

 coaxing, scolding, and this is what she 

 seemed to say : "Come now, my bird- 

 lings, you must be up and doing. You 

 are quite old enough and strong enough, 

 too, to use your wings. Up, up ! Just 

 so ! O, dear, surely you are not all cow- 

 ards. Will you not try, just once, for 

 mother ?" 



But the three youngsters got no 

 farther than poking their heads above the 

 edge of the nest. Mother Robin tried 

 again and again, for she was indeed a 

 patient mother, but without success. 

 Cock Robin was amused and seemed to 

 be laughing under his wing or as one 

 would say "in his sleeve." 



He was a lazy fellow and did not try 

 to help the dear patient weary mother to 

 teach their offspring to fly. He only rose 

 and perched himself on the topmost 

 bough and seemed to say: "Their 

 mother can manage them. Mothers are 

 the ones to teach and discipline the 

 young. I have perfect confidence in my 

 mate's ability to do so." And on the top- 

 most bough with a twinkle in his eye and 

 a free-and-easy air he sat swaying to 

 and fro. 



But all of a sudden the twinkle left his 

 eye, he straightened himself and looked 

 and listened. Yes, here they come, the 

 boy and girl; he knows them well; he 

 has seen them often enough open the big 

 gate by the barn and come tripping so 

 lightly along, chattering like two mag- 

 pies. 



Sometimes they carried a basket and 

 went on to the wood beyond the brook 

 and just over the hill and returned with 

 the basket laden with wild flowers. 

 Sometimes they had rods and lines and 

 stopped at the brook to fish. But this 

 day they had neither basket nor rods, and 

 they were coming straight toward the old 

 thorn tree. 



When they were only a few feet away 

 Mother Robin spied them and like the 

 sensible little bird-lady she was hovered 

 close to her birdies and was as quiet as 

 a mouse. 



Cock Robin's heart beat so fast and 

 hard that the little red vest could scarcely 

 hold it, and he was so frightened he did 

 not hear the boy say: "Yes, I am sure 

 this strange bird has a nest in the mud 



somewhere along the bank of this brook, 

 for I saw him wandering up and down 

 here yesterday at dusk and I am anxious 

 to find his nest." 



If Cock Robin had heard this he would 

 have held his tongue. But he was sure 

 they were coming straight to that tree 

 and that they knew where that nest was 

 with those three junior robins in it. 



So, as the father of a family, he must 

 be brave and defend his wife and chil- 

 dren. With this determination he began 

 to flutter and to call ; to utter piercing 

 cries ; to drop down toward the nest ; 

 then to rise again swiftly to the top of 

 the tree, and to act as though crazy from 

 fright, in which condition he really was. 



The boy, attracted by Cock Robin's 

 behavior, quickened his pace toward the 

 tree. He was just beneath the nest. 

 "Come," said he to the girl, "there is 

 surely a nest here. There must be from 

 the way that old fellow takes on." 



"Be careful," said the girl, "do not 

 frighten the poor things." 



But the boy defied even the threatening 

 thorns and after cutting away the most 

 formidable looking ones, drew himself 

 up onto the limb nearest the ground, 

 and just above his head in the fork of 

 two branches was the object of his 

 search. He carefully raised himself so 

 that his eyes were just level with the 

 edge of the nest when Whew ! Whirr ! 

 into his face flew the three juniors, while 

 about his head in direst distress darted 

 the parent birds. 



Such a surprise took the boy off his 

 feet, and he tumbled to the ground, but 

 rising quickly went after the nearest 

 birdie, caught him and climbing up again 

 gently placed him in the nest. But the 

 boy did not reach the ground before the 

 bird was out again, fluttering and flying 

 swiftly for so young a chap. 



The boy and girl tried to catch the 

 three juniors to return them to the nest, 

 but Cock Robin and his mate seemed to 

 know best what was to be done. 



They fluttered and flitted along the 

 ground near their young, gently chirp- 

 ing and calling to them in encouraging 

 tones, and the juniors flitted toward their 

 wise little parents, who kept just a short 

 distance ahead and thus coaxed and com- 

 pelled them to fly. 



Myra Ormin. 



3? 



