a little brown bird had been hid ; he'd 

 been saving his strength ; and now that 

 the Eagle had paused he flew off of his 

 ship and on and on into the sky. Of 

 course, he got highest, but not by his 

 efforts alone. What were they to do? 

 Have a bird for their King who hadn't 

 played fair and who cheated?' They 

 whistled and twittered and trilled till 

 the judges called order. The judges, 

 they said, had decided to have one more 

 test. The bird who got deepest into the 

 ground should be King. To work they 

 all went. The dirt and dust flew this 

 way and that, and the Eagle's big talons 

 scooped out heap after heap. But this 

 little brown bird who had cheated be- 

 fore went into a Prairie Dog's hole 

 which was already dug. Of course, he 

 got further into the ground than the 

 rest, but he didn't play fair, for he 

 cheated. Before he had time to come 

 out of his hole in the ground a bird 

 guard was formed. A bird who had 

 cheated them twice must be punished. 

 The Eagle was King, and he, as their 

 ruler, decided the fate of the cheat. 

 "Let's .not be rash/' said the King, "this 

 hole which he found shall be his own 

 jail until he repents." Then they drew 



lots for a watcher to prevent his escape. 

 It fell to the owl, and he took up his 

 post ; all day he sat at the door of the 

 prairie dog's hole till at last he grew 

 weary ; one eye would go blinkety blink, 

 and somehow the other soon followed. 

 Before the owl knew it he was sleepily 

 nodding his head. "Aha!" said the 

 cheat, "here's the chance of my life," 

 and he slowly crept out. Away and away 

 flew the little old cheat, afraid if he 

 stopped for a breath that some one would 

 find him ; away and away over city and 

 fields till he came to a marsh. A few 

 little bushes were huddled together in 

 the midst of the bog, and to them the 

 cheat flew, and he's made his home there 

 to this day. Whenever the other birds 

 call him he shakes his head no, and re- 

 plies, "Whip-poor- Will !" "Whip-poor- 

 Will! ,, And the owl whom the birds 

 found asleep at his post was given the 

 punishment meant for the cheat. That's 

 why all day when the birds are at play 

 the owl is asleep in the prairie dog's hole, 

 and at night when every thing's still the 

 owl's "boo ! hoo !" can be heard, for he 

 still feels his shame at having been found 

 by the Eagle, his King, asleep, when on 

 watch of the little brown cheat. 



Viola Collins Hogarty. 



MARIGOLDS IN NOVEMBER, 



Up from the bleak and frosty earth ye lift, 

 Dear flowers, your cups of gold, 



Undaunted; and sweet, subtile odors drift, 

 Cheering the air, so cold. 



The sunshine treasured in your precious cups 



Is doubly precious, now, 

 Since chill November's sunshine chary is, 



The flowers to endow. 



We greet you loitering on the autumn's rim, 



As messengers of grace, 

 Ambassadors of Him who gave to earth 



Your dauntless flower race. 



-M. D. Tolman. 



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