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 THE HISTORY 
 OF THE ROBINS 
 
 BY 
 MRS. TRIMMER 
 
 Edited by EDWARD E, HALE 
 
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 Cornell University Library 
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 The history of the robins 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014558831 
 
The Robin Family in the Orchard. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ROBINS 
 
 BY 
 
 SARAH TRIMMER 
 
 EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION 
 
 By EDWARD EVERETT HALE 
 
 Author cp " The Man without a Country," etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 C. M. HOWARD 
 
 After Giacomelli, Harrison Weir, etc. 
 
 BOSTON, U.S.A. 
 
 D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 
 1903 
 
 Z. 
 
?Z 10.3 
 T^3 Mb" 
 
 >f// 
 
 Copyright, igoi, 
 By D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
 Iplfmpton ipresa 
 
 H. M- PLIMPTON & CO., PRINTERS A BINDERS, 
 NOSWO00, MASS , U 9 A- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction vii 
 
 The Robins' Nest i 
 
 The Young Robins .... .... 5 
 
 Feeding the Nestlings . 8 
 
 How Robin and Dicky learned to sing 10 
 
 A Quarrel in the Nest 13 
 
 Robin in Disgrace .... .... 15 
 
 How Robin was scolded . . . . . 18 
 
 The Children, and the Robins 21 
 
 Canaries in Cages . . . . . -23 
 
 The Nestlings have a Fright 26 
 
 Joe finds the Nest 29 
 
 Robin Redbreast's Story 34 
 
 Going to see the Nest 37 
 
 New Friends 41 
 
 Learning to fly 45 
 
 Robin tries to fly without Help 52 
 
 Returning to the Nest 54 
 
 Robin has a Tumble 57 
 
 How Robin fared 60 
 
 In the Tool-house 63 
 
 A Hawk 66 
 
 Robin lost • . . 70 
 
 Poor Robin caught -73 
 
 Fight between a Chaffinch and a Sparrow .... 75 
 
 The Magpies 79 
 
 The Bird Catcher ... 83 
 
 The Unhappy Dove 87 
 
 v 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Robin Family in the Orchard ..... Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 On the nest .......... I 
 
 " He fed them by turns " 3 
 
 Learning to sing ........ .12 
 
 " When the old birds were seated " . . . . . . .32 
 
 "' A large hole in the wall ' " • -33 
 
 " ' Lay dying on the ground ' " ....... 36 
 
 A conversation ......... -43 
 
 Trying his wings .... ... 47 
 
 " ' What a charming place the world is ! '" . . -5° 
 
 " Dicky now felt ashamed" re 
 
 The old apple tree .......... eg 
 
 In the farmyard .......... 6s 
 
 The hawk and the goldfinch .69 
 
 The chaffinches and the sparrows .78 
 
 The quarrel with the cuckoo 8j 
 
 The snare .......... 8c 
 
 The unhappy dove ......... gg 
 
 AND SEVENTEEN SMALLER ONES IN THE TEXT. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Trimmer, the author of this book, was 
 born in Ipswich, England, in 1741, and died seventy 
 years afterwards. She was the daughter of J. J. Kirby, 
 an architect, at one time celebrated for his writings on 
 the subject of architecture. 
 
 The first Sunday Schools were started in England 
 when she was a little more than twenty years old, and 
 she occupied herself actively in promoting them. She 
 was a woman of more than the average education and 
 accomplishment of her day, and enjoyed the friendship 
 of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and nearly 
 all of the more celebrated English authors and painters' 
 of that time. 
 
 She wrote a great many books, which were chiefly of 
 a religious educational character ; they are now nearly 
 all of them dead and forgotten ; but one of them at 
 least has lived, and has been the delight of thousands 
 of children for over three quarters of a century. 
 
 Her "History of the Robins" became popular as soon 
 as it was published, and has never since ceased to be 
 so ; it has been issued in all styles and sizes, and at all 
 prices. 
 
 The greatest critics have praised it, and some of the 
 most distinguished bird painters of Europe have illus- 
 trated it; but whether illustrated or not, every happy 
 child who has ever owned it has, delighted in and treas- 
 ured it. 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (In telling the history of the Robins, Mrs. Trimmer 
 mixed it up very much with doings of the Benson 
 family, which often had no connection whatever with the 
 birds themselves. We have left all that out, for it has 
 nearly always been found that the boys and girls who 
 read the book cared little about what those very good 
 but very uninteresting little people did. On the other 
 hand, every reader was eager to follow the fortunes of 
 the bird family. So we have given only what is really 
 Mrs. Trimmer's " History of the Robins," which, while it 
 was one of the earliest books devoted to the teaching 
 of kindness to animals, is well abreast of the highest 
 standard of to-day. The diction of the original story, 
 which represented the "correct" style of the period, 
 appears very stilted to modern ears, and we have, there- 
 fore, availed ourselves of the excellent version prepared 
 by Miss Edith Carrington, who has done so much to 
 bring man and animals into closer and more loving 
 relations, j 
 
 The baok was written for English children, and the 
 Robin referred to is the English Robin Redbreast, 
 which is very different from our American bird of the 
 same name. The American Robin is really a thrush ; 
 the English Robin belongs to another family; it is 
 a smaller and chubbier bird, and not quite so graceful 
 as the American Robin. But he is more comfortable 
 looking, especially in cold weather. Indeed, the only 
 resemblance between the two birds is in the coloring 
 of the breast, about which the following legends, among 
 many others, have been told for so many years that no 
 one knows when or where they had their origin. 
 
 Far away, they say, there is a land of woe and dark- 
 ness and fire. Day by day the Robins carry each one 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 a drop of water, to try and put out the burning river, 
 and they go so near in their eagerness to quench the 
 fire that they scorch the feathers of their breast. An- 
 other story says that a long time ago the wren caught 
 fire, and the Robin, trying to stop the burning of her 
 feathers, scorched his own and made them red forever. 
 The Robin has been called a fire-bringer ever since he 
 has had a name, for his earliest name had that meaning, 
 and his ruddy-colored breast has doubtless given rise to 
 these legends as well as to others in which blood and 
 not fire is the chief element. 
 
 EDWARD E. HALE. 
 
 ROXBURY. 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 THE ROBINS' NEST. 
 
 In a hole which time had made in an old wall, 
 over which ivy grew, a pair of redbreasts built 
 
 On the nest. 
 
 their nest. No place could have been better 
 chosen for the purpose. 
 
2 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 It was sheltered from the rain, screened from 
 the wind, and was in an orchard which belonged 
 to a gentleman who had told all his servants that 
 they must not destroy or meddle with the work of 
 any little songsters in his grounds. 
 
 In this happy place, into which no thief dared 
 to come, the hen-redbreast laid four eggs and 
 then' took her seat upon them. She made up 
 her mind that nothing should tempt her to leave 
 the nest until she had hatched her young brood. 
 
 Her kind mate took her place for a short time 
 each morning while she picked up a hasty break- 
 fast, and he often cheered her with hia song before 
 he had tasted any food himself. 
 
 At length the day came when the happy 
 mother heard the chirping of her little ones. In 
 the most tender way in the world she spread her 
 motherly wings to cover them. Then she threw 
 out the eggshells in which they had been pent 
 up. 
 
 She pressed them to her breast and showed 
 them to her mate, who was very much pleased to 
 look at his children, and seated himself by her 
 side that he might share her joy. 
 
 " We shall enjoy ourselves very much while we 
 bring up our little family," said he ; " but I dare 
 say it will be a great deal of trouble. I would 
 do it all myself if I could, but you see I cannot, 
 do what I will, work hard enough to supply all 
 
THE ROBINS' 1 NEST. 
 
 " He fed them by turns." 
 
 our nestlings with enough to eat. So you must 
 help too." 
 
 The mother bird said that she should be very 
 
4 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 glad to help, and added that it would not be 
 needful for her to be away from the nest long 
 at a time, as she had found a place in the orchard 
 where food was put on purpose for birds to pick 
 up. 
 
 A chaffinch had told her, so she said, that 
 there was no danger at all in going to this place 
 for food. " That is very lucky indeed for us," 
 replied her mate, "for we really have so many 
 children that we shall hardly know what to do. 
 
 " We must do all we can to get them enough 
 to eat, and I myself must fly farther from home 
 than I have ever done before, for there are some 
 kinds of insects which are very good for young 
 robins, but which cannot be found close to the 
 nest." 
 
 The little ones now began to be hungry, and 
 opened their gaping mouths for food, on which 
 their kind father at once flew forth to find it for 
 them, and he fed them by turns, as well as giving 
 a bit to his good mate. 
 
 This was a hard day's work, and when evening 
 came on he was glad to take a little rest. Tuck- 
 ing his head under his wing, he soon fell asleep. 
 His mate did the same thing. The four little 
 ones had gone to sleep long before. 
 
 The next morning they were awakened by the 
 
 h, an English bird of the same tribe as our finches. 
 It has a great variety of sweet song. 
 
THE YOUNG ROBINS. 5 
 
 song of a skylark, just as the sun was rising. He 
 had his nest near the orchard, and as the young 
 redbreasts were in a hurry for food their father 
 got ready to fetch it. 
 
 He asked his mate to go with him to the place 
 of which she had spoken, where food was to be 
 found. " So I will," said she, " but it is too early 
 now. You had better go by yourself first and get 
 breakfast for the little ones. I am afraid to leave 
 them until the air is warmer, for fear they should 
 be cold." 
 
 THE YOUNG ROBINS. 
 
 The robin thought his mate quite right in not 
 leaving the nest till the sun was hot. He set to 
 work and fetched food alone. Then he fed all 
 his darlings, to whom he gave the names of 
 Robin, Dicky, Pecksy, and Flapsy. 
 
 When this kind deed was done, the father bird 
 perched on a tree, and while he rested he sang a 
 tune to his family till his mate, springing from 
 the nest, called him to go with her to a y-ard which 
 belonged to the house close by. 
 
 The skylark and the nightingale have perhaps had more poetry 
 written about them than any other birds. One poet says : — ■ 
 
 " The bird that soars on highest wing, 
 Builds on the ground her lowly nest ; 
 And she that doth most sweetly sing, 
 Sings in the shade when all things rest." 
 
6 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 No sooner did the happy pair draw near to the 
 window of the breakfast room than it was quickly 
 thrown open by Harriet Benson, a little girl about 
 eleven years old. She was the daughter of the 
 lady to whom the house belonged. 
 
 Harriet, with great delight, called her brother 
 to see the two robin redbreasts, and she was soon 
 
 joined by Fred, a chubby, rosy-cheeked boy, about 
 six years of age. 
 
 As soon as he had taken a peep at the robins, 
 he ran to his mother and asked her to give him 
 something to feed them with. " I must have a 
 large piece of bread this morning," said he, "for 
 there are all the sparrows and chaffinches that 
 
THE YOUNG ROBINS. 7 
 
 come every day, and two robin redbreasts be- 
 sides." And Fred ran to the window with the 
 bread in his hand. 
 
 When Harriet first showed herself at the win- 
 dow the little birds drew near with eager hopes 
 of seeing her crumble the daily handful which 
 their kind little friend never failed to give them. 
 
 They could not make out why it was so long 
 coming, and were just going away, thinking that 
 there was nothing for them, when Fred, breaking 
 a bit from the piece in his hand, tried to scatter it 
 among the little crowd. 
 
 As he threw the crumbs he called out, " Dicky, 
 Dicky ! " On hearing the well-known sound, the 
 little flock at once drew near. Fred begged that 
 his sister would let him feed all the birds himself. 
 
 But he found that he could not fling the crumbs 
 far enough for the redbreasts, who, being strang- 
 ers, kept a good way off. So he asked Harriet to 
 throw some crumbs to the very spot where the 
 loving pair stood waiting for her notice. 
 
 With grateful hearts they picked up the crumbs 
 thrown to them, and in the meanwhile the other 
 birds, having had enough, flew away, and they 
 were left alone. 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE ROBIN'S. 
 
 FEEDING THE NESTLINGS. 
 
 When the redbreasts had finished their meal, 
 the mother bird seemed to be in a hurry to re- 
 turn to her nest. Her mate wished her to go, 
 and so she flew as fast as she could homewards. 
 Her little heart beat as she came in, and she called 
 in an anxious voice, " Are you all safe, my little 
 dears ? " 
 
 " All safe, dear mother," replied Pecksy, " but a 
 little hungry, and very cold." " Well," said their 
 mother, " I can soon make you warm, but as to 
 giving you something to eat, I must leave that to 
 your father. He will soon be here, no doubt." 
 
 Then, spreading her feathers over them all, she 
 soon made them nice and warm. In a short time 
 her mate came back, for he only stayed at Mr. 
 Benson's long enough to finish his song and sip 
 some clear water which his friends always kept 
 ready for the birds. 
 
 He brought in his mouth a worm, which was 
 given to Robin, and was going to fetch one for 
 Dicky, when his mate said, " My young ones are 
 now hatched, and you can keep them warm as 
 well as I can. Take my place, and I will fetch 
 the next worm." 
 
 " Very well," said he. " I agree to that because 
 I think that a little flying now and then will do 
 
FEEDING THE NESTLINGS. 9 
 
 you good after so much sitting. But, to save you 
 trouble, I will tell you of a place where there are 
 plenty of fine worms." 
 
 He then told her the way to this spot, and as 
 soon as she got off the nest he placed himself on 
 it and gathered his young ones under his wings. 
 " Come, my dears," said he, " let us see what kind 
 of nurse I can make ; but an awkward one, I fear. 
 
 " It is not every mother bird even who is a good 
 nurse ; but you are fortunate in yours, for she 
 is a very tender one, and I hope you will be 
 grateful to her for her kindness." They all 
 promised that they would. 
 
 " Well, then," said he, " I will sing you a song." 
 He did so, and it was a merry one, and delighted 
 them so much that they did not mind being under 
 his wings, although they were not nearly so com- 
 fortable as when their mother sat over them. 
 
 Nor did they think the time long while she was 
 away. She did not succeed in finding worms in 
 the place of which her mate had told her, as she 
 was frightened away by a boy. But she made all 
 the haste she could. 
 
 Though more than one gay and giddy bird 
 asked her to join in play, she thought of her duty, 
 and went straight home the moment she had 
 found a worm. This good mother preferred the 
 pleasure of feeding Dicky to playing in the fields 
 and woods. 
 
IO THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 As soon as the hen-bird came near the nest, her 
 mate started up to make room for her, and went 
 to take his own turn in finding food for his family. 
 " Good-by once more," said he, and was out of 
 sight in an instant. 
 
 " My dear children, how have you been getting 
 on ? " said their mother. " How are you ? " 
 
 " Very well, thank you," they all replied at 
 once. 
 
 " And we have been very merry," said Robin, 
 "for my father has sung us a sweet song." 
 
 " I think that I should like to learn it," said 
 Dicky. 
 
 " Well," replied the mother, " he will teach it to 
 you, I dare say. Here he comes, ask him." 
 
 " I am ashamed," said Dicky. 
 
 " Then you are a silly bird. What is there to 
 be ashamed of ? It is nothing wrong. There is 
 no harm in asking your father to teach you a 
 
 HOW ROBIN AND DICKY LEARNED TO 
 SING. 
 
 The mother bird was pleased that her son 
 should learn to sing. " Singing is a good and 
 proper thing," said she; "you may be sure that 
 your father would not sing if it were not so. 
 And he will be glad for you to learn." 
 
HOW ROBIN AND DICKY LEARNED TO SING. 1 1 
 
 Then, turning to her mate, who had just 
 stopped at the edge of the nest for an instant to 
 pop a worm into one of the hungry mouths, she 
 said, " Am I not right in what I have just told 
 them?" 
 
 " Quite right," said he. " I shall find great 
 delight in teaching them all that I know myself. 
 But we must talk of that another time. Who is 
 to feed poor Pecksy, who has not had a bit yet, 
 if I am to give singing lessons ? " 
 
 " Oh, I — I will feed her," answered the mother, 
 and was gone in an instant. " And so you want 
 to learn to sing, Dicky ? " said the father. " Well, 
 listen carefully that you may learn the notes, 
 though you will not be able to sing till your voice 
 is stronger." 
 
 Robin now said that the song was very pretty 
 indeed, and that he, too, should like to learn it. 
 " By all means," said his father. " I will sing it 
 very often so you may learn it if you like." 
 
 " As for me," said Flapsy, " I do not think I 
 could have patience to learn it." 
 
 " Nobody can learn anything without taking 
 trouble," said her father. " But I hope that if 
 you have no taste for music, you will try to learn 
 something useful." 
 
 " Well," said Pecksy, " I would try to learn 
 music with all my might, but I do not think that 
 I should ever get on at all." 
 
12 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 "Perhaps not," said her father. "Do what 
 your mother tells you. She knows best what 
 you can do, and what will suit you best. 
 
 Learning to sing. 
 
 " She is no songstress herself,^ and yet she is 
 very clever, I can tell you. Here she comes." 
 Then, rising to make room for her, " Here is 
 
A QUARREL IN THE NEST. 13 
 
 your seat, my love," said he, " and I will perch on 
 the ivy." 
 
 The hen again sat over her brood, while her 
 mate amused her with his singing and conversa- 
 tion till the evening, eachjarejit_ bir d flying out 
 injurn to getioocLfor the y oung ones ^ 
 
 In this way several days passed, and nothing 
 of any importance happened. The nestlings 
 grew and became stronger every day, and they 
 learned to know more about the world. 
 
 A QUARREL IN THE NEST. 
 
 One day both the redbreasts, who always went 
 together to Mrs. Benson's, were absent longer than 
 usual. 
 
 When the mother bird arrived at the ivy wall, 
 she stopped at the entrance to the nest with a 
 beating heart. But, seeing all her brood safe 
 and well, she made haste to take them under her 
 wings. 
 
 As soon as she was seated, she said : " You do 
 not seem so cheerful as usual, my dears. What 
 is the matter? How have you agreed while I 
 was away ? " To these questions no one seemed 
 willing to reply. 
 
 The truth was that they had been quarrelling 
 almost the whole time. " What, all silent ? " said 
 
14 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 she. " Hear that you have not done what I told 
 you. I am afraid that you have been quarrelling. 
 Tell me the whole truth." 
 
 Robin, who knew that he had been most to 
 blame, began to make excuses for himself before 
 the others could have time to accuse him. 
 
 _2£L 
 
 " I am sure, mother," said he, " I only gave 
 Dick a little peck because he crowded me so, 
 and all the others joined him and fell upon me 
 at once." 
 
 " Since you have begun, Robin," answered 
 Dick, " I must speak ; for you gave me a very 
 hard peck, and I was afraid you had put out my 
 
 eye. 
 
 "I am sure I made all the room I could for 
 
ROBIN IN DISGRACE. 1 5 
 
 you, but you said you ought to have half the 
 nest and be master when father and mother were 
 out because you are the eldest." 
 
 " I don't like telling tales," said Flapsy, " but 
 what Dicky says is very true, Robin. And you 
 plucked two or three little feathers out of me 
 because I asked you not to behave so badly." 
 
 " And you trod upon me very hard," cried 
 Pecksy, " for telling you that you had forgotten 
 what our dear mother said to you before she left 
 the nest." 
 
 ROBIN IN DISGRACE. 
 
 " This is a sad story indeed," said the mother. 
 " I am very sorry to find, Robin, that you show 
 such a proud and bad temper already. If you 
 go on like this, we shall have no peace, and I 
 shall always be uneasy while I am away. 
 
 " As for your being the eldest, that does not 
 give you the right to bully your brothers and 
 sisters. To show you that you are not master 
 of the nest, you must get from under my wing 
 and sit outside while I cuddle the rest who are 
 good." 
 
 Robin, feeling much ashamed, did as his mother 
 told him. Dicky, who was a kind little bird, began 
 to beg for him. " Do forgive Robin, dear mother," 
 said he. " I forgive him what he did to me, and 
 
1 6 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 should not have said a word about it if I had not 
 been obliged to do so." 
 
 " You are a good bird, Dicky," said his mother ; 
 " but Robin has been so naughty that I must see 
 him look more sorry for what he has done before 
 I forgive him." At this instant her mate came 
 back with a fine worm, and looked, as usual, for 
 Robin. 
 
 " Give it to Dicky," said the mother bird to him. 
 " Robin must be fed last this morning." Dicky 
 i did not like to hurt Robin's feelings by taking 
 the worm, yet, when his mother spoke to him, he 
 opened his mouth and swallowed the delicious 
 morsel. 
 
 " What can be the matter ? " said the good 
 father, when he had emptied his mouth. " Surely 
 none of the little ones have been naughty ? I 
 cannot stop to ask just now, for I left another 
 fine worm behind, and it will be gone if I do not 
 make haste." 
 
 As soon as the old robin was gone, Dicky asked 
 again that his brother might be forgiven. But, as 
 the young Robin sat puffing out his feathers with 
 anger and scorn, the mother would not hear a 
 word in his behalf. 
 
 The father soon came and fed Flapsy, and 
 
 then, thinking it best for his mate to scold Robin 
 
 I herself, he flew off again. During her father's 
 
 absence, Pecksy, whose little heart was much 
 
ROB /AT IN DISGRACE. \J 
 
 grieved to see her brother in disgrace, tried to 
 comfort him. 
 
 " Never mind, Robin. I will give you my 
 breakfast if mother will let me." 
 
 " Oh," said naughty Robin, " I don't want any 
 breakfast, thank you. If I cannot be helped first, 
 I will not eat anything." 
 
 " Shall I ask mother to forgive you ? " said 
 Pecksy. 
 
 " Mind your own business," said Robin. " If 
 you had not been a pack of ill-natured things, I 
 should not have been pushed out here." 
 
 " Come back, Pecksy," said the mother. " I 
 will not have you talk to such a naughty bird. ( 
 I forbid every one of you even to go near him." 
 
 The father then came up, and Pecksy was fed. 
 
 " You can now rest yourself, my dear," said the 
 mother, " your morning task is ended." 
 
 " Why, what has Robin done ? " asked he. 
 
 " I am sorry to have to tell you that he has 
 quarrelled with his brothers and sisters." 
 
 " Quarrelled with them ? You surprise me. I 
 should not have thought that he could be so foolish 
 and unkind." 
 
 " Oh, that is not all," said the mother. " He 
 boasts that he is the eldest, and wants to take 
 half the nest for himself while we are out. And 
 now he is sulky because I punished him, and did 
 not feed him first, as usual." 
 
1 8 THE HTSTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " If that is the case, leave me to manage him," 
 said the father. "You had better go out into 
 the fresh air a little, for you seem to be worried." 
 , " Yes, I am worried," said she. " After all my 
 care and kindness I did not expect him to behave 
 so badly." 
 
 HOW ROBIN WAS SCOLDED. 
 
 As soon as the mother was gone the father 
 thus spoke to his naughty little son. " And so, 
 Robin, you wish to be master of the nest. A 
 pretty master you would make, indeed, who do 
 not know even how to rule your own temper ! 
 
 " I shall not say much to you now, but be sure 
 of this. If you behave again as you did to-day, I 
 shall have to separate you from the rest of the 
 family. I should be very sorry to have to put 
 you out of the nest, for I love you, too ; but no 
 bird must interfere with the rights of the others.'-' 
 
 This threat frightened Robin very much. He 
 also began A to be very hungry as well as cold. 
 So he promised to behave better for the future, 
 and his brothers and sisters took his part, beg- 
 ging that he might be allowed to come back into 
 the warm nest. 
 
 " That depends upon his mother," said the 
 father. " But as it is the first time that he has 
 done wrong, and as he seems to be sorry, I will 
 
HOW ROBIN' WAS SCOLDED. ig 
 
 ask her to forgive him." He then left the nest 
 to look for her. 
 
 " Come back, my dear," said he. " Robin is 
 sorry for what he has done, and I think that he 
 may now be forgiven." Pleased with this news, 
 the mother raised her head and flew to the nest. 
 Robin felt half afraid to meet her. 
 
 But as soon as he had begged her pardon she 
 made room for him again under her wing. He 
 nestled closely to her side and was thankful for 
 the warmth. But he was still hungry, and hardly 
 liked to ask his father to fetch him food. 
 
 But the kind father, without waiting to be 
 asked, flew into the nearest field, where he soon 
 met with a worm. This he gave to Robin, who 
 swallowed it thankfully. Thus peace was re- 
 stored to the nest, and' they were all very glad. 
 
 But a few days after a fresh quarrel took place. 
 All the little robins, except Pecksy, were often 
 scolded for some fault or other. She was such 
 a good little robin that she never did wrong, and 
 so she was always praised by her parents. 
 
 The others grew tired of hearing Pecksy set 
 up as a pattern for them to copy, and they 
 made up their minds to treat her badly, calling 
 her "mother's pet," and grumbling because, 
 they said, all the best worms were, saved for 
 her. 
 
 Poor Pecksy bore all their unkind words with 
 
20 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 patience, hoping that in time they would grow 
 tired of being cross. But it happened one day 
 that their mother came back while they were 
 saying these things to Pecksy. 
 
 Hearing a great hubbub and noise among her 
 young ones, she stopped on the ivy to find out 
 what all the din was about, and soon popped into 
 the midst of them in a way that showed she knew 
 what was going on. 
 
 " Is this the way you speak to one another 
 when I am not here ? " cried she, in a sad tone. 
 " Is this the feeling that brothers and sisters 
 ought to have for each other ? You ought to be 
 ashamed of yourselves. 
 
 " And how dare you say that Pecksy is better 
 fed than the rest of you, when your father and I 
 divide everything quite fairly ? For several days 
 I have seen that something was the matter with 
 Pecksy. 
 
 "In future I shall expect you to give her the 
 warmest place in the nest to make up for your 
 past unkindness to her." Saying these words, 
 the mother ruffled out her feathers till she looked 
 quite fierce. 
 
 Robin, Dicky, and Flapsy were sorry they had 
 been so cross, and Pecksy tried to make excuses 
 for them. " I am sure they did not mean what 
 they said," said she. "I do not want to keep the 
 best place for myself. Let us have it in turn." 
 
THE CHILDREN AND THE ROBINS. 21 
 
 This kind speech made peace in the nest. The 
 other little robins felt vexed with themselves for 
 having teased so good a sister, and they said so. 
 Pecksy was ready to spring out of the nest in her 
 joy at finding all was right again. 
 
 THE CHILDREN AND THE ROBINS. 
 
 Robin was a very strong bird, and robust, 
 though not remarkable for his beauty. There 
 was a great briskness in his manner, which made 
 him lively and pleasant to look at. He was a 
 bird who was sure to please. 
 
 His father judged from the tone of his chirp- 
 ings that he would one day be a good singer. 
 Dicky had very fine feathers, though, being 
 young, he wore no scarlet waistcoat; yet his body 
 and wings looked very pretty, and his eyes 
 sparkled like diamonds. 
 
 Flapsy was also very pretty, but her fine shape 
 was the best thing about her, for her feathers 
 were not very bright. Pecksy was a plain little 
 body, but her temper was so sweet that no one 
 could help loving her. 
 
 She was never out of temper, and she was 
 always ready to give up her own way. The kind 
 parents gave up all their time to the little ones, 
 but made their daily visit to Fred and Harriet, 
 
22 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 who never forgot to spread food for the little 
 birds. 
 
 The old robins, made friendly by being cared 
 for so kindly every day, became more and more 
 
 tame. At last they would come shyly into the 
 room and feed on the breakfast-table. Fred was 
 so delighted that he longed to catch them and 
 keep them in a cage. 
 
CANARIES IN CAGES. 23 
 
 But his mother told him that this would be 
 the way to drive them away. The robins had 
 trusted him. as a friend, she said, and it would be 
 a bad thing to repay them by taking their freedom 
 away. 
 
 The little birds soon flew out at the window, 
 and as soon as they were gone Mrs. Benson 
 went on : " Think again, Fred. I am sure you 
 would not like to shut up these sweet little birds 
 in a cage only that you might have the pleasure 
 of feeding them. 
 
 " Fancy how wretched you would feel, always 
 shut up in one small room. Should you like that, 
 even if you had enough to eat and drink ? What 
 should you do if you were never allowed to run 
 or jump or go from place to place again ? 
 
 " It is as dreadful for a bird to be shut up in a 
 cage as for a boy to be shut up in prison. The 
 caged bird cannot use his wings, he is parted 
 from his friends, and he cannot enjoy the pleas- 
 ure of flying about in the fresh air." 
 
 CANARIES IN CAGES. 
 
 " There is another reason why it is cruel to 
 keep birds in cages," said Mrs. Benson. " It is, 
 that they cannot build nests and rear young ones 
 there. The greatest pleasure which a bird knows, 
 is to have a home, and little birds to tend. 
 
24 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " And besides this, by keeping birds in cages 
 we prevent them from doing useful work in clear- 
 ing the fields and gardens of insects and grubs. 
 The keeping of any birds in cages is a cruel 
 custom." 
 
 " But, mother," said Harriet, " if it is wrong to 
 
 catch birds or keep them in cages, why did you 
 at one time keep that little canary ? " 
 
 " That was different," said Mrs. Benson. " By 
 keeping that poor little bird I did it a kindness, 
 for I bought it from a man who did not treat it 
 well. 
 
CANARIES IN CAGES. 2$ 
 
 " That kind of bird comes from a warm coun- 
 try, and it would have died from the cold if I had 
 let it go. Still, I think it is a pity to keep even 
 a canary in a cage. No creature which has wings 
 ought to be kept so that it cannot use them. 
 
 " If I had turned it loose, the sparrows and 
 other birds would have seen that it was a stranger, 
 and they would have pecked it. It is their nature 
 to chase any bird which is unlike those that they 
 know. 
 
 " I remember once seeing a poor little canary 
 which had flown out at a window. It was starv- 
 ing for want of food, for after being long in a 
 cage no bird knows how to find food for itself in 
 the fields and woods. 
 
 " A whole mob of birds were hunting this 
 poor little canary from tree to tree, and it was 
 nearly frightened to death. It looked like a little 
 foreigner followed by a rabble of boys laughing 
 at him because he looked different from them." 
 
 "And what became of the poor little thing, 
 mother? " 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Benson, " I hung up a cage, 
 with seed and water in it, on a tree near. 
 
 " No sooner had I done this than the poor little 
 bird flew into it. I had great pleasure in seeing 
 how glad the canary was to be safe again. Yet 
 it never can be right to bring any bird up in such 
 a way as to make a cage seem its best refuge." 
 
26 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " What became of him, mother ? " asked Harriet. 
 
 " I kept him for a little while, but as I could 
 not bear to see any bird cooped up in a cage I 
 gave it to Mr. Bruce, who has a large place made 
 of wire-work in which it could at least fly about. 
 
 " The song of a bird sounds harsh and ugly to 
 my ears when the singer is caged. If the little 
 creatures cannot be free, I would rather go with- 
 out their music." 
 
 " I see," said Harriet. " I shall never wish to 
 keep any bird in a cage, not even a canary. I would 
 rather tame them while they are free, or else find 
 something else to amuse me." 
 
 THE NESTLINGS HAVE A FRIGHT. 
 
 When the hen-redbreast returned to her nest, 
 she was startled at not hearing, as usual, the 
 chirping of her young ones, and what was her 
 surprise at seeing them all crowded together 
 trembling with fright ! 
 
 " What is the matter, my dears ? " said she. 
 
 '' Oh, my dear mother ! " cried Robin, who first 
 dared to raise his head, " is it you ? " 
 
 Pecksy then looked up too, and begged her 
 mother to come into the nest as fast as she could. 
 The little tremblers crept under her wings, trying 
 to hide themselves. 
 
THE NESTLINGS HAVE A FRIGHT. 
 
 27 
 
 " What has frightened you so much ? " said she. 
 
 " Oh, I do not know," replied Dicky ; " but we 
 have seen such a dreadful monster ! I never saw 
 anything like it before ! " 
 
 " A monster, my dear? Tell me what it was like." 
 
 " I cannot," said Dicky, " it was too dreadful to 
 be described." 
 
 " Frightful, indeed," said Robin, " but I had a 
 
 full view of it, and will tell you what it was like 
 as well as I can. 
 
 " We were all sitting in the nest and were very 
 happy together ; Dicky and I were trying to sing, 
 when suddenly we heard a noise against the wall. 
 
 " And presently a great, round, red face bobbed 
 up in front of the nest, with a pair of huge, star- 
 ing eyes, a very large beak, and below that a wide 
 
28 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 mouth, with two rows of bones that looked as if 
 they could grind us all to pieces in an instant. 
 
 " Over the top of this round face and down the 
 sides 'hung something black, but not like feathers. 
 When the two staring eyes had looked at us for 
 some time, the whole thing disappeared." 
 
 " I cannot tell at all from what you say what 
 this thing could be," said the mother, " but per- 
 haps it may come again." 
 
 " Oh, I hope not ! " said Flapsy . " I shall die 
 from fear if it does." 
 
 " Why so, my love ? " said her mother. " Has 
 it done you any harm ? " 
 
 " I cannot say it has," replied Pecksy. 
 
 " Well, then it is very silly of you to be afraid of 
 it. You must try to conquer your foolish fears. 
 
 " When you go out into the world, you will see 
 a great many strange things. If you are in terror 
 of everything that you have never seen before, you 
 will have a most unhappy life. But here comes 
 your father; perhaps he will be able to tell us 
 what it was that frightened you so much while I 
 was out." 
 
 Their father told them that it was a man — 
 their friend the gardener; but they could not 
 help peeping over the edge of the nest with beat- 
 ing hearts when they heard a sound near the ivy 
 wall. They feared that the dreadful round face 
 would show itself again. 
 
JOE FINDS THE NEST. 29 
 
 JOE FINDS THE NEST. 
 
 While this excitement was going on in the 
 nest, the monster, who was no other than honest 
 Joe, the gardener, went to the house to ask for 
 the young master and mistress. He felt that he 
 had pleasant news to tell them. 
 
 Both Harriet and Fred ran out. " Well, Joe," 
 said Harriet, " what have you to say to us ? 
 Have you got a peach or a plum, or have you 
 brought me a root of sweet-william, as I asked 
 you to do ? " 
 
 "No, Miss Harriet," said Joe, "but I have 
 something to tell you that will please you as 
 much." 
 
 " What's that, what's that ? " said Fred. 
 
 " Why, Master Fred, a pair of robins have come 
 very often to one place in the orchard lately. 
 
 " So, thought I, these birds have a nest. I 
 watched and watched, and at last I saw the old 
 hen fly into a hole in the ivy wall. I had a 
 fancy to look in, but, as master told me never to 
 frighten the birds, I stayed till the old one flew 
 out again. 
 
 " And then I mounted, and there I saw the 
 little creatures full fledged ; and if you and Miss 
 Harriet will go with me, I will show them to you, 
 for you may easily get up the step-ladder." Fred 
 
30 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 was in raptures. He ran off at once to his 
 mother, and Harriet was not slow to follow. 
 
 When the redbreasts had quieted the fears of 
 their young family, and fed them as usual, they 
 went away to a tree. 
 
 . But they took care to tell their little nestlings 
 not to be frightened if the same monster were to 
 look in at them again, as it was very likely that 
 he would do so. The little birds promised to 
 bear the sight as well as they could. 
 
JOE FINDS THE NEST. 3 1 
 
 When the old birds were seated in the tree, the 
 father said to the mother: " It is high time that 
 we taught our young ones to fly. If we do not 
 teach them to go out into the world and face 
 danger, they will never be able to shift for them- 
 selves." 
 
 " Very true," said the mother. " They are now 
 fully fledged, and therefore if you like we will 
 take them out to-morrow and begin to prepare 
 them for getting their own living." 
 
 " One of the best ways to begin will be to leave 
 them by themselves for a while," said the father 
 bird. " Let us go for a little flying trip together, 
 and then go back." 
 
 The mother agreed, though she longed to go 
 back to her little ones. When they stopped to 
 rest on a tree, she said, " I can remember how, 
 last year, I was robbed of my darlings by some 
 cruel boys." 
 
 " It is that which makes you so nervous at 
 leaving the nest now, perhaps," said her mate. 
 " I can see that you keep looking that way, as 
 if you wished you were flying home." 
 
 " Yes, I never feel comfortable away from 
 them," said she. 
 
 " I once had a trouble of the same kind before 
 I married you," said the father robin, " and I shall 
 never forget it. 
 
 "I had been taking a flight in the woods to 
 
' When the old birds were seated. 
 
JOE FINDS THE NEST. 
 
 33 
 
 fetch some nice bits for my nestlings. When I 
 came back the first thing that put me into a fright 
 about them was seeing a part of the nest on the 
 
 " ' A large hole in the wall.' " 
 
 ground. I had not been prudent in the place I 
 chose. 
 
 " I am older and wiser now, but at that time 
 I built too near the ground, and the nest was 
 not safe. The next thing I saw was a large hole 
 
34 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 in the wall, where before there had only been a 
 small one, just wide enough to let me go in and 
 out." 
 
 ROBIN REDBREAST'S STORY. 
 
 The robin went on telling his mate the story 
 of how he lost his nest. " What did you see 
 next ? " said she. 
 
 " Why, I stopped outside the hole, hardly daring 
 to look in. At first I was in hopes of hearing 
 the chirpings of my nestlings. 
 
 " But all was silence. At last I made up my 
 mind to go in. But what was my misery when 
 I found that the nest, which my dear mate and 
 I had built for the little ones with so much care 
 and hard toil, had been stolen away ! 
 
 " Worse than this, my dear baby robins were 
 gone too, and I could not see their mother any- 
 where. I rushed out of the place, full of sorrow 
 and dread, crying aloud, for I could do nothing 
 to help them. 
 
 " I feared that they were in great trouble, if 
 not dead. But still I hoped that my dear mate 
 might be somewhere near, and I made up my 
 mind never to leave off searching till I found her. 
 
 " As I was flying along, I saw three boys, who 
 looked very dreadful to me. One of them held 
 in his hand my nest of young ones, which he 
 
ROBIN REDBREAST'S STORY. 
 
 35 
 
 eyed with cruel delight, while his comrades seemed 
 as glad as he was. 
 
 " The dear little creatures, who were too young 
 to know what danger they were in, opened their 
 mouths. Poor little dears ! They expected to be 
 fed by me or their mother, but all in vain. 
 
 " It was of no use trying to feed them while 
 they were in the hands of the boys — that was 
 a thing which no bird is bold enough to try. 
 But I made up my mind to follow the great 
 savage giants. 
 
 " I wished to see what would become of my 
 darlings. In a short time the party came to a 
 house, and he who had carried the nest before 
 now handed it to another, while he went in and 
 fetched something to give them. 
 
 " He soon came out with a kind of food which 
 I know nothing about, and with this my young 
 ones were fed. Hunger led them to swallow it. 
 But soon, missing the warmth of their mother's 
 breast, they set up a sad cry, which pierced my 
 very heart. 
 
 " Directly after this, the nest was carried away, 
 and what became of my nestlings I never could 
 find out, though I often flitted round the great 
 house, which was their prison, with the hope of 
 seeing them." 
 
 " And," said the mother, " what became of 
 your mate ? " 
 
36 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Why, my dear," said he, " when I found that 
 there was no chance of helping my little ones, 
 I went on looking for her everywhere, but no- 
 where was she to be seen. 
 
 " ' Lay dying on the ground.' " 
 
 " At last I went back to the old bush where the 
 nest had been. Here I saw a sad sight, indeed. 
 My beloved mate lay dying on the ground. I flew 
 
GOING TO SEE THE NEST. 37 
 
 to her as fast as I could, and tried to call her back 
 to life by one of the sweetest songs I knew. 
 
 " At the sound of my voice she lifted up her 
 head and looked at me with a dim eye. ' Are 
 you then safe, my dear mate ? ' said she. ' Oh, 
 what has become of our little ones ? ' 
 
 " To comfurt her, I told her I hoped they were 
 alive and well, but she said, ' You have come too 
 late. I feel I am dying. The horror, when I 
 missed my darlings and thought that you, too, 
 were dead, was too much. 
 
 " ' Oh, why will men and boys be so cruel and 
 thoughtless ? ' 
 
 " With these words she breathed her last, and 
 left me alone in the world. I passed the rest of 
 that summer and the winter in a very unhappy 
 state of mind." 
 
 GOING TO SEE THE NEST. 
 
 As soon as the Benson children saw their 
 mother, Fred ran up to her, saying : " Good 
 news, good news ! Joe has found the robins' 
 nest." 
 
 " Has he really ? " said Mrs. Benson. 
 
 " Yes, mother," said Harriet, " and we are going 
 with Joe to see it." 
 
 "But how will you get up?" said her mother, 
 " for I suppose it is above the ground." 
 
33 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Oh, I can climb a ladder very well," said Fred, 
 and so can Harriet." 
 
 "Very well. Only be careful not to frighten 
 the poor little things." 
 
 " Not for all the world," said Fred. Joe and 
 the children soon came to the place where the 
 
GOTNG TO SEE THE NEST. 39 
 
 nest was, and the gardener placed the ladder for 
 them to mount. Fred ran up it very quickly, and 
 how delighted he was to see the nestlings ! 
 
 " Oh, what dear little things ! " said he. " There 
 are four of them. I wish I might carry them all 
 home." 
 
 " Oh, no, Fred," said his sister. " Do come 
 away. I am sure that you will frighten the young 
 ones, or else their parents, who are waiting close 
 
 by-" 
 
 " Well, I will come down in a minute," said 
 Fred; "and so, good-by, robins." He then clam- 
 bered down. Joe next turned to Harriet. " Now, 
 miss, will you go up ? " said he. Harriet soon 
 climbed the ladder, and was as much pleased as 
 her brother. 
 
 " They are sweet little dears," said she, " and I 
 hope they will soon join our party of birds, for 
 they seem ready to fly. But let us go home 
 now, that the birds may feed their young ones 
 in peace." 
 
 As soon as they were well out of sight, the 
 mother bird came back. She had seen the peo- 
 ple close to her nest, and thought they had been 
 taking a peep into it. She told her mate of 
 this. 
 
 He said that he thought the same thing, and 
 that now he expected to hear a fine story from the 
 nestlings. 
 
40 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Let us go back, in any case," said the mother, 
 "for perhaps they have been very much fright- 
 ened again." 
 
 " Well," said he, " I will come, too. But let me 
 
 advise you not to pay too much heed to their fears, 
 — that will only make matters worse." 
 
 " I will do the best I can," replied she, and then 
 flew to the nest with her mate. 
 
NEW FRIENDS. 4 1 
 
 She perched upon the ivy, and, peeping into 
 the nest, asked how they all were. 
 
 " Very well, dear mother," said Robin. 
 
 " What ! " said the father, who now came down, 
 "all safe? Not one of you eaten up by the 
 monster? " 
 
 " No, father, we are not gobbled up," said Dicky, 
 " and yet the monster has been here again and 
 has brought two others with him." 
 
 " Two others ! What, like himself ? I thought, 
 Flapsy, that you were going to die of fright if 
 you saw him again ? " 
 
 " And so I think I should, if you had not told 
 me that he was a good man and would not scrunch 
 me with his teeth," said Flapsy. " When I saw 
 him my heart began to flutter, and every feather 
 of me shook. 
 
 " But when I found that he stayed only a very 
 little while, I got better, and was in hopes he was 
 quite gone. My brothers and sisters felt as badly 
 as I did." 
 
 NEW FRIENDS. 
 
 " Well, and what happened next ? " said the 
 mother bird to Flapsy. 
 
 " We tried to comfort each other," said Flapsy, 
 " and said that the danger was over. We all said 
 that we should be happy now. 
 
42 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " But before we were quite happy again, we 
 heard some very odd noises ; sometimes a hoarse 
 sound, horrid to our ears as the croaking of a 
 raven, and sometimes a shriller noise, quite un- 
 like the note of any bird that we know of. 
 
 " Just after this, something came in sight which 
 was rather like the monster, but not so large and 
 frightful. Instead of being red all over, it had on 
 each side two reddish spots of a more beautiful 
 hue than father's breast. 
 
 " The rest of it was white, except two streaks 
 of a deep red, like the cherry we saw the other 
 day. And between these two streaks were two 
 rows of white bones. 
 
 " But they were not at all dreadful to look at, 
 like those of the great monster. Its eyes were 
 blue and white, and round this pretty face was 
 something which I cannot describe, very lovely, 
 and as smooth as the feathers of a s:oldfinch. 
 
 " But it stayed only a very little time. While 
 we were puzzling ourselves about it, there came 
 another, which looked quite as nice, and so mild 
 and gentle that we were charmed with it. But 
 it soon went away too." 
 
 " I am glad to find you so far from being 
 afraid," said their mother, "for, as your father 
 and I were flying together, on our way back to 
 you, we saw the monster and the two pretty 
 creatures that Flapsy has described. 
 
NEW FRIENDS. 
 
 43 
 
 " The first is our friend the gardener. The 
 others are also friends, though they are young. 
 
 A conversation. 
 
 It is these two creatures who put out food for us 
 every day, and I feel sure they will not do you 
 any harm. 
 
44 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Though they are good to a great many birds, 
 I am sure that they like us best." 
 
 " Oh," said Pecksy, " are these sweet creatures 
 our friends ? I long to go out that I may see 
 them again." 
 
 " Well," said Flapsy, " I see that we cannot 
 judge of people by their looks. Who would 
 have thought that such an ugly monster as that 
 gardener could have a tender heart ? " 
 
 " Very true, Flapsy," said the mother. " You 
 must make it a rule not to judge of mankind by 
 their looks. I have known plenty who were good 
 to look at ; yet they were cruel enough to take 
 eggs out of a nest and spoil them. 
 
 " Not only would they take eggs, but young birds, 
 too, without knowing how to feed them, and with- 
 out caring how unhappy they made the old birds." 
 
 " Oh, how full of danger the world is ! " cried 
 Flapsy, " I shall be afraid to leave the nest." 
 
 " Instead of feeling afraid, Flapsy," said her 
 father, " try to be as brave as you can, for to- 
 morrow you shall all begin to see the world." 
 
 Dicky jumped for joy at hearing this, and 
 Robin boasted that he had no fear at all. 
 
 Flapsy, though still rather afraid of monsters, 
 yet longed to see the fun, and Pecksy wished to 
 do what her father and mother liked. As it was 
 now evening, each bird went to sleep with its 
 head under its wing. 
 
Bureau Naturr V//.,-' 
 
 VING TO FLY. "' l ° 7 l H' 
 
 LEARNING TO FLY. l * tt » /f -»'^' 
 
 1Vf ™ University, ///z^, A 
 
 LEARNING TO FLY. 
 
 Early in the morning, the mother redbreast 
 waked her young brood. " Come, my little ones," 
 said she, " wake up ! Remember that to-day you 
 are to go for the first time into the wide world. 
 
 " Mind that you all shake out your feathers 
 and make them tidy with your beaks as I showed 
 you." 
 
 The father bird was on the wing very early that 
 he might give each of his young ones a break- 
 fast before they left the nest. 
 
 When he had fed them, he asked his mate to 
 come with him to Mr. Benson's, where he found 
 the window open, and his young friends sitting 
 with their mother. Crumbs had been strewn in 
 plenty before the window, as usual. 
 
 But the redbreasts took up their post on the 
 breakfast-table, where the father bird sang his 
 morning song. After this they went back at 
 full speed to the nest. They could not be absent 
 long that day, as so great a piece of work was 
 before them. 
 
 As the father came into the nest he cried out 
 in a cheerful voice, " Well, my nestlings, are you 
 all ready ? " 
 
 " Yes," they chirped. 
 
 The mother then bustled up, and told each 
 
46 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 one of them to climb to the edge of the nest. 
 Robin and Pecksy sprang up in an instant, but 
 Dicky and Flapsy, being afraid, were not so quick. 
 
 The hearts of the parent birds were glad at 
 the sight. " Now," said the father, "stretch your 
 wings, Robin ; flutter them a little in this way." 
 Then he showed Robin how to begin. " Now, 
 be sure to do just what I tell you. 
 
 " That is very well," he went on. " Do not try 
 to fly yet; there is not room here, nor air enough. 
 Walk gently after me to the wall, then follow me 
 to the tree that stands close to it. 
 
 " Then you must hop from branch to branch, 
 as you will see me do. Stop to rest yourself now 
 and then. And, as soon as you see me fly, spread 
 your wings and use all the strength you have to 
 follow me." 
 
 Robin did all that his father told him so well, 
 that he met with great success in his first flight. 
 He was soon standing safe on the ground. 
 " Now, stand still," said the father, " till the rest 
 join us." 
 
 Then, going back, he called Dicky to do the 
 same as his brother had done. But Dicky was 
 very much afraid of fluttering his wings. He 
 was a timid little fellow, and said he was sure 
 he should fall. 
 
 They were too high from the ground, Dicky 
 thought. His father, who was a very brave bird, 
 
LEARNING TO FLY. 
 
 47 
 
 Trying his wings. 
 
 could not bear to think that any son of his 
 §hould be a coward. "Why, you foolish little 
 
48 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 thing," said he, "do you mean to stay in the 
 nest and starve? 
 
 " I shall leave off bringing you food, I can tell 
 you. Do you think that your wings were given 
 you to be always folded* by your sides, and that 
 all you have to do in the world is to dress your 
 feathers and make yourself look pretty ? 
 
 " Without exercise you will soon be ill. And, 
 besides, you have your living to earn. Get up, 
 this instant ! " 
 
 Dicky was startled at his father's anger, and 
 got up. 
 
 He crept as far as to the end of the branch 
 from which he was to fly, but here he began to 
 tremble from fear. He stood flapping his wings 
 without being able to make up his mind. 
 
 Twice did the good father bird show him the 
 way to begin, and twice did Dicky fail to follow 
 him. The old bird, finding that Dicky would 
 not venture to fly, went round him while Dicky 
 was not looking. 
 
 He waited till the little bird had once more 
 spread his wings, and then came suddenly up 
 , behind and pushed him off the branch. Dicky, 
 now finding himself in real danger, stretched his 
 wings, and, borne up by the air, went gently down 
 to the ground. 
 
 The mother now said she would bring Pecksy 
 and Flapsy, while her mate took care of the two 
 
LEARNING TO FLY. 
 
 49 
 
 youngsters on the 
 ground. Flapsysaid 
 she would much 
 rather not try, but 
 did what her mother 
 told her. 
 
 And Pecksy, with- 
 out waiting for a mo- 
 ment, did the same, 
 and found it much 
 easier than she ex- 
 pected. As soon as 
 they felt a little 
 rested after their 
 first attempt at fly- 
 ing, they began to 
 look about them in 
 great surprise. 
 
 The orchard 
 seemed a world to 
 them. For some 
 time they said noth- 
 ing, but just gazed 
 around. At last 
 Flapsy cried out, 
 " What a charming 
 place the world is ! 
 I never thought it 
 was half so big ! " 
 
' What a charming place the world is! ' " 
 
LEARNING TO FLY. 5 1 
 
 Before long the birds were hopping about in 
 search of food. Dicky was so lucky as to find 
 four worms all at once, hut instead of calling the 
 others to have a share he ate them all himself. 
 
 " Are you not ashamed, you little greedy crea- 
 ture ? " said his father, who saw him gobbling 
 the last worm in a great hurry for fear any one 
 should see him ; " what should you think of your 
 mother and me if we were to treat you so ? 
 
 ,l By the time that you are a father, Dicky, 
 which may be next year, you will have to learn 
 how to deny yourself. You had better begin 
 now, and let your brothers and sisters have a bit 
 of the next worm you find." 
 
 Dicky looked much ashamed, but hopped away 
 to look for more worms. Perhaps he thought 
 that it would be time enough to give up his 
 dinner when he had young ones of his own. 
 
 In the meantime Robin and Pecksy were tug- 
 ging at two ends of the same worm, when, just 
 as Robin had jerked away the biggest share, 
 a sparrow snatched it from him, and flew away 
 with it for his young ones. 
 
 Furious with rage, Robin begged his father to 
 fly after the sparrow and punish him. 
 
 " That would be taking a violent revenge, in- 
 deed," said his father. " No, Robin, the sparrow 
 had as good a right to the worm as you had. 
 
 " Very likely he has a great many little gaping 
 
52 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBIN'S. 
 
 mouths to fill at home, and he thought that his 
 hungry children wanted it more than such plump 
 little birds as you and Pecksy." 
 
 At this instant Pecksy came up with a fine 
 spider in her mouth, which she laid down at her 
 mother's feet. " Please to eat that, dear mother," 
 she said affectionately. " I have so often wished, 
 when I have seen you and father working so hard 
 for us, that I might be able to do something for 
 you." 
 
 ROBIN TRIES TO FLY WITHOUT HELP. 
 
 The eyes of the mother sparkled with delight 
 at seeing her little brood so well able to take care 
 of themselves. Yet she saw that the time had 
 come for them to leave off living together, as they 
 had done in the nest. 
 
 " They will do nothing but quarrel and fight," 
 she said, " unless they part." 
 
 "This seems sad, my dear," said her mate. 
 " But do not let it grieve you. It would never 
 do for our young birds to go on living together 
 always, for then they would not build nests and 
 rear young. 
 
 " The best thing we can do is to teach them all 
 how to fly, and then they need no longer keep so 
 near each other. They will be all the better 
 friends for being sometimes apart." 
 
ROBIN TRIES TO FLY WITHOUT HELP 53 
 
 " Now, Robin," said his father, " let us see you 
 try to fly upwards ; come, I will show you how to 
 raise yourself." 
 
 " Oh, don't trouble about me," said this foolish 
 young bird, " as I flew down, there is no reason 
 why I should not be able to fly up." 
 
 Then, spreading his wings, he tried to rise into 
 the air, but in so unskilful a way that he only 
 shuffled along the ground. 
 
 " That will not do at all," cried his father ; 
 " shall I show you now ? " 
 
 Robin kept to his first notion, that he needed 
 no teaching, and tried again. He just man- 
 aged to raise himself a little way from the 
 ground, but soon came tumbling headlong down 
 again. 
 
 His mother began to scold him for being so 
 silly, and advised him to ask his father to teach 
 him. " To blunder in this way because you are 
 too proud to learn will only make sensible birds 
 laugh at you." 
 
 " Let him alone, let him alone," said his father; 
 " if he is above being taught, he may find his own 
 way to the nest. Come, Dicky, let us see what 
 you can do at flying upwards. You did not cut 
 a noble figure this morning when you flew 
 down." 
 
 Dicky was not in a great hurry to try. He 
 came forward slowly, and then hung back. At 
 
54 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 last he said he did not see why they need go back 
 at all. He should think that they might find 
 some snug corner to creep into. 
 
 " Why, you are as absurd as Robin," said his 
 father. " He is too bold, and you are too timid. 
 If you rest on the ground all night, you will suffer 
 from cold and damp. 
 
 " Besides, there are rats, owls, and other crea- 
 tures, too, which go out by night to seek for food, 
 and which would enjoy a fat young bird like you, 
 and snap you up in a moment while you were 
 asleep." 
 
 RETURNING TO THE NEST. 
 
 Dicky began to think that he should be wise 
 to obey his father, and said he would try to fly 
 up. 
 
 " Never despair," said the old robin ; " you will 
 not be the first young robin who has learned to 
 fly after thinking he never could. 
 
 " Just look up into the air and see how many 
 birds are flying about. They were once all nest- 
 lings like yourself. I wonder whether they said, 
 ' Oh, I can't,' when their fathers wanted them to 
 fly? 
 
 " See that new-fledged wren ; it only left the 
 nest yesterday, and yet how bravely it skims 
 along! Do not let it be said that a redbreast 
 
RETURNING TO THE NEST. 
 
 55 
 
 lies grovelling on the earth, afraid to fly, while a 
 little baby wren soars above him." 
 
 " Dicky now felt ashamed." 
 
 Dicky now felt ashamed of himself. So, with- 
 out more delay, he spread his wings and tail. 
 His father stood near, showing him the right 
 
56 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS: 
 
 way, and, raising himself from the ground, went 
 on in front to guide him. 
 
 By carefully watching his father and doing 
 everything that he saw him do, Dicky reached 
 the nest in safety. He found it a most comfort- 
 able resting place after the tiring journeys of the 
 day. 
 
 The mother went to Flapsy and said, " Get 
 ready to follow me when your father comes back, 
 for the sun is very scorching here, and the nest 
 will be more comfortable and cool in the shade of 
 the ivy." 
 
 Flapsy asked her mother to tell her all she had 
 better do. " Well, then," said the kind old bird, 
 " first bend your legs, then spring from the ground, 
 as quickly as you can, stretching your wings as 
 you rise, on each side of your body. 
 
 " Shake them with a quick motion, as you will 
 see me do, and the air will yield to you, and at 
 the same time support your weight." The mother 
 bird then rose from the ground. 
 
 Flapsy, having practised two or three times 
 what she had been learning, at length dared to 
 follow, though with a beating heart. She was 
 soon happily seated in the nest by the side of 
 Dicky. 
 
 The mother bird now went back to Pecksy, 
 who was waiting ; this little bird was quite ready 
 to go. She sprang from the ground with a light- 
 
ROBIN HAS A TUMBLE. 
 
 57 
 
 ness and strength which were wonderful for a 
 first attempt. 
 
 The faithful mother could not rest while Robin 
 was still on the ground, and so she sat in a tree 
 close by, where she could keep an eye on him, 
 and be ready to help him if he asked her. 
 
 But Robin sat sulky, and would not own that 
 he was in the wrong. He would not humble 
 himself to ask help from his father or mother, so 
 they left him for a little while. Instead of being 
 sorry when they were gone, Robin grew angry. 
 
 He gave way to ill-temper. " Why am I to be 
 treated in this way ? " cried he. " I am the eldest 
 of the lot, and all the others are fondled and 
 caressed. But I don't care, I can get to the nest 
 well enough if I choose, only I don't choose." 
 
 ROBIN HAS A TUMBLE. 
 
 At last Robin began to get very tired of being 
 all alone on the ground. It was getting dark, 
 too, and he began to think of what he had heard 
 his father tell Dicky about cats and other night 
 creatures who snapped up fat little birds. 
 
 He made a desperate effort to fly up, and after 
 a great many trials did get up into the air. But 
 as he did not in the least know how to guide 
 himself, he turned sometimes to the right, some- 
 times to the left. 
 
58 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 At length, quite tired out, he fell and bruised 
 himself a good deal. Stunned by the fall, he lay 
 for some time as if dead. And then, as soon as 
 his senses came back, he was in terror at finding 
 himself alone in this dismal state. 
 
 And Robin's kind parents were not far off. 
 They had watched him and seen his distress. 
 
 Darting from the branch from which she had 
 seen Robin's fall, the mother stood in an instant 
 before him. " My poor little bird," said she, " I 
 have seen everything. My heart aches for you. 
 And gladly would I help you if I could ! " 
 
 Just at that moment the father came up, and 
 they began to consult together as to a place of 
 safety into which Robin could flutter or creep for 
 the night, since it was plain that he had hurt 
 himself too much to be able to fly up to the nest. 
 
 The father robin flew to a meadow close by, 
 and fetched a worm from a place he knew. His 
 son soon gobbled it up and was thankful. Re- 
 freshed by this morsel, and comforted by his par- 
 ents' kindness, Robin was now able to stand up. 
 
 On shaking his wings he found that he was not 
 so much hurt as he had thought. His head indeed 
 was bruised, and he had a pain in the joint of one 
 wing, so that he could not fly at all, but he man- 
 aged to hop. 
 
 " I think that for to-night he cannot do better 
 than creep into this hole at the root of the hollow 
 
The old apple tree. 
 
60 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 apple tree," said Robin's mother. " What do you 
 think, my dear ? " 
 
 " Well," said her mate, " I should say that it was 
 a very safe place." 
 
 HOW ROBIN FARED. 
 
 Very early the next morning, the mother of 
 Robin went to see him. She found him well, 
 but still unable to fly. He said that he had been 
 terribly frightened in the night. 
 
 In the tree above, just as he had put his poor 
 bruised head under his wing and was dropping 
 asleep, a loud fearful noise began. ^ It was a 
 little like the noise which the monster made, when 
 first he came to see us in the nest," said Robin. 
 
 " Nonsense*" said the father .bird, who now 
 came up ; " Joe, the gardener, goes to sleep in his 
 nest all night, and never comes out till the morn- 
 ing. You must have had a bad dream, Robin, 
 because you were such a naughty bird last night." 
 
 " Indeed, father, it was not a dream. I heard it, 
 and I was awake. It cried out, ' Hoo-hoo-hop, tu- 
 whit to-whoo ! ' till I was nearly dead from fright. 
 I felt as if something were coming to eat me." 
 
 "Oh, it said ' Tu-whit,, tu-whoo,' did it?" said 
 the father robin. " Well, then, after all it was not 
 a dream. That great noise was made by a large 
 bird that looks like a cat. 
 
HOW ROBIN FARED. 6 1 
 
 " Men call him an owl, and he destroys mice 
 and little birds. So if you hear him again, keep 
 quiet; he cannot get you, in here." But Robin 
 said he could not sleep in the hole any more. 
 
 It made him shake to think of it. So the 
 parents said they would find some safer place for 
 him out of the sound of the owl's voice. His 
 mother was anxious now to see whether Robin 
 could hop. 
 
 She told Robin to follow her as well as he 
 could. This he did, though not without some 
 pain. 
 
 " Now," she said, " amuse yourself by looking 
 for insects and worms in the grass. There are 
 plenty here. 
 
 "Stay here for the day, and before evening I 
 will come back and settle about a sleeping place 
 for you." Robin took a sorrowful farewell of his 
 mother. 
 
 She was forced to leave him, because the rest 
 of her brood needed her care, for it was but their 
 second day in the wide world. The little nest- 
 lings were very glad to hear that their brother 
 was safe. 
 
 They asked their father to let them go and 
 keep him company. But he said the journey 
 was too long for such little birds. " Perhaps 
 you may pay him a visit to-morrow," said he, 
 " when your wings will be stronger." 
 
62 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 They kept on saying that they could not be 
 happy without Robin, and from time to time they 
 fancied they heard his cries. Then the father or 
 
 mother would take wing and just see that he was 
 all right. 
 
 " Robin is safe enough," said the mother ; " he is 
 pecking here and there at whatever he can find." 
 
IN THE TOOL-HOUSE. 63 
 
 After a time the father of Robin came flying to 
 him, and with a good deal of trouble managed 
 to get him to a pump in the garden, where the 
 water dripped into a trough. 
 
 Here Robin sipped the fresh drops, and they 
 did him a great deal of good. " To-morrow you 
 may try to bathe," said the old bird. 
 
 IN THE TOOL-HOUSE. 
 
 That night, when bedtime came, the father 
 robin came with his mate to see where their 
 nestling should sleep. " I have thought of a 
 place," said he, " where at least you will be safe 
 from cold, rats, cats, and owls. 
 
 " In a part of this orchard, a very little way 
 from here, there is a large hut which belongs to 
 our friend Joe. Once or twice I have found 
 shelter in it from a storm, and there is a door 
 which is shut tight as soon as the sun sets. 
 
 " It is opened again in the morning." The 
 old bird then led the way, and his son followed 
 him. When they came to the tool-house, a place 
 where the gardener kept his spade, they found 
 the door open. 
 
 The father bird looked carefully about, and at 
 last he found, in a corner, some scraps of cloth 
 used for nailing up fruit trees. 
 
64 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Here, Robin," he said, " here is a charming 
 bed for you. Let me see you in it. Then I 
 must bid you good night." 
 
 So saying, away he flew, while his mate, who 
 had waited outside to see whether she could find 
 an earwig or two, came in to look. She was 
 much pleased with the lodging which he had 
 found. 
 
 She reminded him that if they stayed any 
 longer they might be shut in for the night and 
 their other children would be left alone. So they 
 took leave, telling Robin that they would visit 
 him early in the morning. 
 
 Though this house was much better than Robin 
 expected, he fretted a little to get back to his 
 brothers and sisters in the nest. But he soon put 
 his head under his wing and forgot all about it. 
 
 Before the sun showed his glorious face in 
 the east, all the family of robins were awake. The 
 father was in a great hurry for the gardener to 
 open the tool-house; the mother got her little 
 ones ready to go out. 
 
 " You will be able to get on better to-day, my 
 dears, will you not ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, mother," said Dicky, " I shall not be 
 at all afraid." 
 
 " Nor I," said Flapsy. 
 
 " That is famous," said their mother. " Then 
 let us see who will be down first." 
 
In the farmyard. 
 
66 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 On this, the mother bent her course to the spot 
 where Robin lay hidden, and they all followed her 
 at the same moment, and surprised their father. 
 He had seen Joe, and was expecting every instant 
 that he would open the door. 
 
 At last, to the joy of the whole party, Joe drew 
 near. Taking a large key from his pocket, he 
 soon undid the door, for he wished to fetch his 
 shears. Joe left the door of the tool-house open, 
 in case he should want anything else. 
 
 So the mother redbreast proposed that they 
 should all go in and pay Robin a call. There 
 they found him in his snug little bed, and how 
 pleasant the meeting was ! They all chirped as 
 loud as they could, which meant " How do you 
 do?" 
 
 They soon left the tool-house and hopped about 
 the currant-bushes. " Those of you who have the 
 full use of your limbs, could manage to get into 
 those low bushes," said their father. 
 
 " But poor Robin must content himself with the 
 ground a little longer." 
 
 A HAWK. 
 
 As soon as the old redbreasts left their family 
 to go to Mrs. Benson's, Pecksy and Robin began 
 to talk. 
 
 " How are you now, Robin ? " said she, kindly. 
 
A HAWK. 67 
 
 " Oh, I am much better ; but it is a wonder that 
 I am alive, for you cannot think what a dreadful 
 fall I had. With turning about as I did in the 
 air, I became quite giddy, and could not try to 
 save myself when I began to fall. 
 
 " You see how my eye is still swollen, and it 
 was much more so at first. My wing is the worst ; 
 and it still gives me a good deal of pain when I 
 move it. Just look how it drags on the ground ! 
 But it was my own fault." 
 
 " Well, I suppose we cannot do things without 
 learning," said Pecksy, " and what a lot of things 
 there are for a young bird to learn ! I quite dread 
 the day when I must take care of myself, and 
 never go back to the nest again." 
 
 " Oh, I dare say we shall know how to fly and 
 peck all in good time," said Flapsy, " it is of no 
 use to be afraid. For my part I am longing to 
 see the world. I am sure the birds enjoy a great 
 many pleasures that we know nothing of." 
 
 Dicky said he very much wished to go out into 
 the world, but felt much afraid of birds of prey. 
 " Only think," said he, " they come down on you out 
 of the sky, and you are dead before you know it ! " 
 
 " Well, that is better than being made to bear 
 pain for a long while," said Robin. 
 
 "Besides," said Pecksy, "do you really think 
 that a hawk would hurt us ? I am sure he would 
 not seize such a dear little bird as you, Dicky." 
 
68 THE HTSTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 " Well, you see, I suppose the hawk is too hun- 
 gry to notice whether we look pretty or not," said 
 Dicky. " Do you wait to see whether a spider is 
 pretty or not before you gobble him up ? " 
 
 " To be sure," said Flapsy, " it is no worse for 
 the hawk to eat us, than for us to swallow spiders." 
 
 Just as she said this, a speck was to be seen 
 in the sky above them. It drew nearer, and to 
 the horror of the whole party, it changed into a 
 large bird. 
 
 At the sight of him all the little birds felt a 
 great fear, and tried to hide as well as they could 
 among the grasses. They could not help scream- 
 ing. At the same moment the shrieks of many 
 other small birds rang through the orchard. 
 
 The redbreasts were bold little things, and they 
 soon got the better of their fright and began to 
 look about them. Each young bird wished to see 
 what had become of the rest. And they also 
 peeped up towards the sky to see whether the 
 dreadful foe was gone. 
 
 How sad they were when they saw him carry- 
 ing off a bird that had often flitted about the 
 orchard ! A few of his feathers fell near the 
 young robins' hiding-place, and they knew them 
 tor those of a goldfinch that they had often seen. 
 
 " This shows," said Pecksy, " that hawks do 
 not care whether the birds they eat are pretty or 
 not. Nobody is safe, and I shall never be happy 
 
The hawk and the goldfinch. 
 
JO THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 any more." And Robin, who could not fly, crept 
 under a currant bush and hid himself. 
 
 ROBIN LOST. 
 
 When the redbreasts came back they found 
 that Robin was gone ! They could neither see 
 nor hear him. The gardener, too, was no longer 
 near, and they were afraid that as soon as he had 
 left the spot some cat or rat had taken Robin 
 away and killed him. ff^ 
 
 In the most anxious way the olH^irds searched 
 every corner in which they thought that poor 
 Robin might be hidden, and they strained their 
 little voices till they were quite hoarse in calling 
 to him. 
 
 The tool-house was locked, but if he had been 
 inside he would have called out in reply to the 
 cries. At length, in despair, they went back 
 with heavy hearts to the old nest in the ivy wall. 
 There they all sat, feeling very sorrowful. 
 
 After a mournful night, the mother left the 
 nest again next morning early, that she might 
 try once more to find her little lost bird. But 
 after spending an hour in looking for him she 
 came back to her mate. 
 
 " Come," said he, " let us take a flight. If we 
 sit here grieving forever it will be of no use, for 
 it cannot bring poor little Robin back. If he is 
 
ROBIN' LOST. 71 
 
 dead, he will never have pain or hunger any more, 
 and if he is not, the more we fly about the more 
 likely we are to get news of him. 
 
 " Suppose we go to the great house, and take 
 the little ones with us. They have never been 
 to the window yet, where we have been fed so 
 often. I do not think it will be too far for them. 
 And perhaps our friends may know something 
 about Robin." 
 
 All the little ones were very much pleased at 
 hearing this, for they had often longed to go 
 with their father and mother to the fine place 
 where such nice food was to be had without the 
 trouble of finding it. So they set out at once. 
 
 By the time that the family of robins reached 
 the window, all the other birds had been fed and 
 were gone. " Now," said the father bird, " stop a 
 little ; don't be in such a hurry. Behave your- 
 selves properly. Hop only where we hop. 
 
 " You will be getting into some scrape if you 
 do not take care. Recollect that we are now go- 
 ing into the nest of a human being, where there 
 are many dangers. Do not meddle with anything, 
 or try to peck any crumbs but those which you see 
 us peck." 
 
 The father and mother flew i-n at the window. 
 The little ones, afraid at beingjeft alone outside, 
 soon followed. How delighted Fred was to see 
 them settle on the table ! 
 
72 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 And how glad the little birds themselves were, 
 for a great surprise awaited them. Sitting perched 
 on the edge of the bread-plate, as much at his 
 ease as if he had lived there all his life, sat the 
 lost Robin ! 
 
 The meeting was a happy one for all parties, 
 though all were too busy eating crumbs and 
 scraps to say much. Yet the father sang a few 
 notes of pleasure while in the midst of his 
 feast, and the mother bowed and bobbed, clapped 
 
POOR ROBIN CAUGHT. 73 
 
 her wings, and touched Robin's beak with her 
 own. 
 
 The young ones, who had never seen so many 
 good things before, were too busy to talk, but 
 they would have liked to ask Robin how he came 
 there, and how he dared venture in alone. 
 
 But they were wise robins, and thought that 
 talking could be put off, while meal times could 
 not. So they finished the bits which were given 
 to them, and which were as much as they wanted. 
 
 Dicky perched on the edge of a honey pot and 
 got himself very sticky, so the mother thought it 
 high time to go. 
 
 POOR ROBIN CAUGHT. 
 
 Fred's mother had promised him that when 
 his lessons were done he and his sister should go 
 into the orchard and see if they could catch a 
 glimpse again of the young robins. 
 
 When they reached the orchard, the old red- 
 breasts had just taken the others back to the 
 nest, and poor Robin was left to himself, as his 
 parents could do nothing for him. He kept hop- 
 ping about, and at last got into the middle of the 
 path. 
 
 Fred spied him some little way off, and cried, 
 " Oh, there is one of them, I declare ! " And be- 
 fore his mother had noticed what he was doing, 
 
74 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 he ran to the place, and clapped his small hand 
 over Robin, delighted that he had caught the 
 young bird. 
 
 Though Fred did not mean to hurt Robin, he 
 could not help doing so. The wounded wing was 
 not well yet, and the least touch gave him pain. 
 The poor little bird sent forth piteous cries of 
 fright, on which Fred let him go, saying, " I won't 
 hurt you, you poor little thing." 
 
 Harriet, who saw him catch the bird, ran as 
 fast as she could to prevent him from holding it, 
 and seeing that Robin was lame as he hopped 
 away, was sure that it was her brother who had 
 hurt him. 
 
 But Fred said he was sure that the wing hung 
 down before Robin was caught. Mrs. Benson 
 said, " Very likely he was lamed by some acci- 
 dent, and this has prevented the little creature 
 from going to the nest with the others. 
 
 " If this is the case, it will be kind and good to 
 take care of him. Some cat or rat or other crea- 
 ture may snap him up if we do not protect him." 
 
 Fred was delighted to hear her say so, and 
 asked whether he might carry him home. 
 
 " Yes," said his mother, " if you can be sure of 
 carrying him gently and safely." 
 
 " Shall I carry him, ma'am ? "said Joe. " He can 
 go nicely in my hat, and it will not frighten him 
 so much as being held in the hand." 
 
FIGHT BETWEEN CHAFFINCH AND SPARROW. 75 
 
 This was a very good plan, so Fred picked up 
 some handfuls of the soft grass which Joe had 
 mown down, and put them in the bottom of the 
 hat. Then Robin was gently caught again, and 
 placed in the hat. 
 
 As soon as Robin felt and saw how kindly he 
 was being cared for, he seemed to know that he 
 was among friends, and he left off trying to get 
 away. Sitting gravely in the hat, he peered with 
 his bright eyes at Joe and Fred. 
 
 That night he spent more happily than any 
 since he had left the nest, for the hat, lined with 
 its soft hay, was like the old home, and Joe lent 
 it to him for a bed. Joe's mistress said she would 
 make him a present of a new hat instead of it. 
 
 FIGHT BETWEEN A CHAFFINCH AND A 
 SPARROW. 
 
 Robin had slept very soundly in Mrs. Benson's 
 room, where she had put him to bed, for fear 
 that Fred should be tempted to handle the little 
 fellow and perhaps hurt him. 
 
 Robin was able to use his lame wing a little. 
 Fred was therefore trusted to carry him into the 
 breakfast room, where he was placed on the table. 
 It was there that he met his little brother and 
 sisters each morning. 
 
 For some time the young redbreasts behaved 
 
f6 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 very well at breakfast, but at length Dicky, who 
 became pert when he was a little more tame, for- 
 got to do as his father told him. 
 
 He began to hop in a very rude manner ; he 
 even jumped into the plate of bread and butter, 
 and having a mind to taste the tea, hopped on 
 the edge of a cup. But he found when he dipped 
 his toes into it that the tea was too hot, and he 
 went off in a fine flurry. 
 
 Flapsy, too, made so bold as to peck at the 
 sugar ; but, finding it too hard for her beak, went 
 to the butter dish instead. Her mother told 
 them she would not bring them with her next 
 time if they did not mind their manners. 
 
 As soon as the servants came to take away 
 the cloth, all the robins hurried out at the window 
 again, after saying good-by to Robin. 
 
 " You have not yet seen half the orchard," said 
 their father, " and I wish to let you know a few 
 of our neighbors." 
 
 He then led the way to a pear tree in which a 
 linnet had built her nest. The old linnets seemed 
 much pleased to see their friends the redbreasts. 
 
 With great pride the old redbreasts showed 
 their family. " My own nestlings are just ready 
 to fly," said the hen-linnet, " and I hope they will 
 know each other. Birds like your young ones 
 will make nice playmates for mine." 
 
 Then they flew on to a cherry tree, in which 
 
FIGHT BETWEEN CHAFFINCH AND SPARROW. yy 
 
 a pair of chaffinches in a great fright were trying 
 to part one of their own brood and a young 
 sparrow, who were squabbling and fighting about 
 nothing. 
 
 " It is all the fault of my nestling," said the 
 chaffinch, " he will go about with the sparrows, 
 who don't want him. If he would stay at home, 
 he would not always be getting into trouble." 
 Here she pounced down on the young sparrow 
 and sent him flying. 
 
 " As soon as he began to peck, he would go 
 with sparrows instead of staying at home," went 
 on his mother, panting after her attack on the 
 sparrow. " He made friends with that very 
 young bird you saw him fighting with, who is 
 bad company for him. 
 
The chaffinches and the sparrows. 
 
THE MAGPIES. 79 
 
 "The two went about quarrelling and fight- 
 ing with every bird they met, and they have 
 just picked a quarrel between themselves. I am 
 heartily glad of it, for now they will not go about 
 together any more." The young linnet, who had 
 received a sharp nip in the wing, said that he 
 should now mind what his mother said. 
 
 THE MAGPIES. 
 
 " Let this be a warning to you, my dears," said 
 the mother robin. " Never go about with any 
 quarrelsome birds, for you do not know what 
 trouble you may get into. Let us take another 
 flight now." 
 
 The robins began pecking about, when, all of 
 a sudden, they heard a strange noise which 
 frightened the little ones. Their father told 
 them that they need not mind it, and he led them 
 to the top of a high tree. 
 
 In this there was a nest of magpies, who had 
 been round the orchard to see what sort of 
 place it was, and were now chattering about it. 
 They all spoke at once and made such a clamor 
 that nobody could tell what they were talking 
 about. 
 
 In short, each magpie wished to speak, and 
 no magpie wished to listen. "What a foolish 
 set of young birds these are ! " said the father 
 
80 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 robin. " Mind you speak one at a time, and do 
 not be so silly as the magpies." 
 
 They soon saw a cuckoo surrounded by a 
 number of smaller birds who had been pecking 
 at her. But all she said was " Cuckoo, cuckoo," 
 as loud as she could. " Get back to your own 
 country," said a thrush ; " what business have you 
 here ? " 
 
 " She has been dropping her eggs into our 
 nests," cried the other little birds, " why cannot 
 she build a nest for herself? Yah! get out, go 
 home ! " And they flew after the cuckoo till 
 they fairly jostled her out of the orchard. 
 
 " What I like to see is a swallow," said the 
 robin. " He comes here and builds his nest in 
 an honest way and helps to eat flies as we do. 
 Besides, the swallows can tell splendid tales. I 
 like to hear them speak of what they have seen. 
 
 " But come, let us go on." They soon came to 
 a hollow tree. " Peep into this hole," said the 
 father to his young ones. They did so, and spied 
 a nest of young owls. " What funny creatures ! " 
 said Dicky ; " they seem to be all eyes and beak." 
 
 " And how they are muffled up ! " said Flapsy ; 
 " what can . they do in hot weather dressed so 
 warmly ? " 
 
 " What do we do ? " said one of the young owls, 
 " why, have you not sense enough to know that 
 we are night birds and do not fly about by day ? " 
 
The quarrel with the cuckoo. 
 
82 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 At that instant the parent owl came back, 
 and seeing a lot of strangers looking into her 
 nest, she set up a screeching which made the 
 place ring again. This loud cry of anger soon 
 scattered the robins, who took wing as fast as 
 they could. 
 
 As soon as they stopped to rest, the cock- 
 redbreast, who was really frightened, as well as 
 his mate and family, plucked up his courage. 
 " We have had a narrow escape," said he. 
 
 " Why has the 
 
 big eyes, 
 asked 
 
 owl such 
 father?' 
 Dicky. 
 
 " The better to see 
 you with, my dear," 
 said his father, " and 
 he has a big beak 
 on purpose to gob- 
 ble up little birds. 
 So never go near an 
 owl if you can help it, by day or by night. He 
 is as bad as a hawk. 
 
 " In the daytime, if you chance to see him 
 abroad, he is not so dangerous. But let no little 
 bird dare to stay up late at night after his mother 
 has told him to go to bed. If he does, very 
 likely the big owl will eat him up before he has 
 time to cry out." 
 
THE BIRD CATCHER. 83 
 
 THE BIRD CATCHER. 
 
 The next morning the redbreasts came to Mrs. 
 Benson's as usual, and Robin was still better. 
 When they flew away, they soon found them- 
 selves in a meadow, on one side of which was a 
 row of fine oak trees. On a branch of one of 
 these they sat. 
 
 On the next tree a blackbird and a thrush 
 poured forth their sweet songs ; a number of lin- 
 nets joined them. The little robins had not long 
 been in the tree, when they spied a man below, 
 who was scattering food on the ground. 
 
 " Look there ! " said Dicky, " what fine food 
 that man throws down ! I dare say he is some 
 kind creature who is a friend to us ; shall we go 
 down and pick up some of it ? " 
 
 " Do not be in a hurry, Dicky," said his father ; 
 " watch here with me a little while, and then you 
 shall please yourself." All the little ones stretched 
 out their necks and kept their bright eyes fixed on 
 the man. 
 
 In a few moments a number of sparrows, chaf- 
 finches, and linnets went down, and began to feast 
 on the food which the man had placed beneath. 
 He himself withdrew to a little distance. 
 
 The man, who was a bird catcher by trade, now 
 called another man to help him. In a moment 
 
84 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 all the poor little birds that had been feasting on 
 the ground felt a net suddenly cast over them. 
 
 The two men caught them, and put the un- 
 happy little things into a cage. This cage was 
 divided into a number of small parts, and into 
 these divisions the linnets, chaffinches, and others 
 were put. 
 
 Into this dismal prison where they had hardly 
 room to flutter, the poor little birds were thrust ! 
 What a sad change for them after singing free on 
 the boughs! 
 
 The little redbreasts trembled, and wished to 
 fly away. " There," said the father, " what about 
 your friend now, Dicky ? Will you not look 
 twice now before picking up crumbs scattered by 
 strangers ? No man in the world is so dreadful 
 as the bird catcher. 
 
 " Those little creatures that he has carried off 
 will never be set free again ; most of them will die 
 from sorrow or fright, or from pain. The rest 
 will spend a life in prison. It is far better to die 
 than be kept in a cage." 
 
 They then flew about seeing the sights, till 
 presently the father robin gave a great start and 
 cried out loudly, " Turn this way, turn this way ! " 
 Lucky it was that they did so at once, for at the 
 same instant they saw a fearful flash of fire. 
 
 A thick smoke followed it, and then a dreadful 
 sound like thunder. A young bird fell wounded 
 
The snare. 
 
86 THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 and bleeding to the ground, and struggled there 
 for a moment. Then he lay quite still. 
 
 The little redbreasts were now in terror, and 
 asked the meaning of this dreadful accident. 
 " How was the poor little bird killed ? What did 
 he die of ? " they both asked at once. 
 
 " He was shot to death," said the father robin. 
 " The same thing might have happened to you, to 
 me, or to your mother. This only happens when 
 men are about. 
 
 " But come, let us take a sip of fresh water from 
 this stream, and we will try to find some place where 
 we may amuse ourselves without danger. Are 
 you rested enough to take a pretty long flight ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Dicky, who was quite eager now 
 to leave the spot. The father led the way, and in 
 a short time he and his family came to the grand 
 house of a rich gentleman. 
 
 Among the other strange things to be seen 
 here was a huge bird-cage, called an aviary, which 
 was built like a temple. Bright brass wires were 
 round it, and the framework was painted green, 
 and decked with gilt carvings. 
 
 In the middle a fountain threw up fresh water, 
 which fell into a basin with flowers round it. At 
 one end were troughs holding many kinds of food 
 for birds, and places for nests. 
 
 It seemed as if a dwelling like this must make 
 any bird happy, and Dicky wished very much to 
 
THE UNHAPPY DOVE. 87 
 
 go in. " Wait a little," said his father, " find out 
 first whether the birds who live here are really 
 happy before you wish to change places with them. 
 " Sit here on this bush. Then you will soon 
 hear what the birds are saying within, and if you 
 still wish to go inside, I will not prevent you. 
 Here is a twig close to the wire bars, and re- 
 member, those who once get on the other side 
 can never get out again, no matter how much 
 they may try." 
 
 THE UNHAPPY DOVE. 
 
 The first bird that Dicky saw inside the aviary 
 was a dove, who sat cooing in so sweet and gentle 
 a tone that a stranger who listened would have 
 heard him with delight, but the redbreasts, who 
 knew what he meant, heard him with sorrow. 
 
 " Oh, my dear mate," said he, " am I then taken 
 away from you forever ? Of what use is all this 
 food to me, this clear water and this sheltered 
 place? Without you I cannot enjoy anything. 
 
 " They will not let me out to go and find you. 
 Never more shall I have pretty nestlings to feed in 
 the trees ! Never more shall I stretch my wings 
 and fly far away, or roam where I please." Here 
 his voice failed, and he became silent from grief. 
 
 " The dove is not happy, you see," said the hen- 
 redbreast to Dicky. Let us hear what that lark 
 
The unhappy dove. 
 
THE UNHAPPY DOVE. 89 
 
 has to say." His eyes were turned towards the 
 sky, he fluttered his wings, he strained his throat, 
 and to a human eye would have seemed full of joy. 
 
 But the redbreasts saw that he sane from vio- 
 lent grief, not joy. " And am I always to be shut 
 up in this hateful place ? " sang he ; " is my up- 
 ward flight to be stopped by bars ? Must I no 
 longer soar towards the bright sun, and make the 
 arch of heaven echo to my voice ? 
 
 "Shall I never build my nest and rear young in 
 a cornfield again ? Oh, cruel and unjust man, to 
 take from a poor little bird all that he holds dear, 
 that you may enjoy his song ! But of what use is 
 it to complain ? No one will listen. I shall die 
 here in my prison." 
 
 " What do you think now, T)icky ? " said the 
 redbreast. " Do you still think that the birds in 
 the aviary are better off than you ? " 
 
 " I cannot help thinking that it must be very 
 comfortable to have everything that one wants ! " 
 
 " Well," said the father, " let us move on," and 
 they went close to the branches of a tree in the 
 aviary, in which a pair of linnets were seated. 
 " Come," said one of the linnets, " let us finish the 
 nest, though there is small pleasure in hatching a 
 set of poor little prisoners. 
 
 " How different it would be if we were free in 
 the fields ! Men, it is true, have given us some 
 stuff to make our nest of, but how much happier 
 
go THE HISTORY OF THE ROBINS. 
 
 we should have been seeking it ourselves ! And 
 they cannot find the right things to make it with 
 as we should have done. 
 
 " How dull and wretched it is never to fly 
 about ! There is no room here to take a .good 
 leap and a wide sweeping flight." 
 
 At this instant a mother-goldfinch brought out 
 her brood, which were fledged. 
 
 " Come, my nestlings, use your wings," said she. 
 So the little ones tried to fly. But one of them 
 hit himself against the bars, and fell down hurt. 
 
 " Why cannot I soar as other birds do ? " said 
 he. 
 
 " Alas ! " said the mother, " we are shut in, and 
 cannot. We shall never get- out, so you must 
 make the best of it here." 
 
 " Never get out ? " cried they ; " then we shall 
 never be able to play with the birds outside." 
 
 Dicky was thoughtful while this went on, and he 
 now said, " Let us go back to the orchard, where 
 we can fly about, or they may shut us up here. 
 Nothing is of use to a bird unless he is free." 
 
 So the robin family went back to the orchard, 
 where they lived in peace and joy. Each of the 
 young birds grew up to have a mate and a nest; 
 and no birds could be better off than they were. 
 Fred and Harriet soon let Robin go, for his wing 
 healed in due time. 
 
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The Heart of Oak Books. 
 
 A collection of traditional rhymes and stories for children, and of mas- 
 terpieces of poetry and prose, for use at school and at home, chosen with 
 special reference to the cultivation of the imagination and a taste for good 
 reading. By 
 
 CHARLES ELIOT NORTON. 
 
 These six volumes provide an unrivaled means of making good reading 
 more attractive than bad, and of giving right direction to uncritical choice, 
 by offering to the young, without comment or lesson-book apparatus, 
 
 Selected Portions of the Best Literature, the Virtue of 
 which has been approved by long consent. 
 
 The selections are of unusual length, completeness and variety, compris- 
 ing a very large proportion of poetry, and are adapted to the progressive 
 needs of childhood and youth by a unique principle of selection, grading and 
 arrangement, which makes each volume a unit, and makes the series the first 
 permanent contribution to the body of school reading by a man of letters 
 which children will love and cherish after school-days are over. 
 
 The Fine Taste and Rare Literary Experience and Resources 
 
 of the editor are a guarantee that the series contains nothing but the very 
 best. No author's name or reputation has been potent enough to save from 
 rejection any selection that did not meet the editor's exacting standard in at 
 least three particulars : First, absolute truth to nature (especially nature in 
 America) ; second, wide, healthy, human interest; third, the highest possible 
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 extraordinarily trustworthy character. The youth who shall become acquaint- 
 ed with the contents of these volumes will share in the common stock of the 
 intellectual life of the race, and will have the door opened to him of all the 
 vast and noble resources of that life. 
 
 For Home Use, 
 
 even by children most favored by circumstance, these volumes provide the 
 richest store of thought and music to grow up with and to learn by heart. 
 No happier birthday or Christmas gift can be conceived, especially for children 
 in the country, or remote from libraries and other means of culture, than a set 
 of the Heart of Oak Books. They are a veritable possession forever, and 
 their price puts them within the reach of all. 
 
 Descriptive pamphlet giving prefaces, tables of contents, specimen pages, 
 and indexes of authors sent on application. 
 
 D. C. HEATH & CO., Publishers 
 
 New York Atlanta Chicago 
 
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