"The birds began chirping for all they were worth. The grown-ups said,'Listen to the noise the birds are making. It must be going torain--they're crying for water.'
"And sure enough, they were begging the king of the clouds to send someof his army of raindrops down to the earth.
"'Please, please, please, Cloud King, send us rain-water,'chirped the birds.
"'All right,' roared the cloud king. 'I will.'
"'But we don't want thunder,' said the birds. 'We want to stay out, andwe're afraid of thunder. Won't you send us a good old-fashioned shower?'
"And the cloud king called, 'Raindrops, raindrops, come and patter downto the earth. But gently, little raindrops. And when you see the beak ofa little bird open, one small raindrop must walk inside.'
"Down came the raindrops very softly and gently to the earth.
"'Children,' called Mother Robin, 'come for your baths in these hollowstones. They're filled with water.'
"All around the mother birds were calling the little ones to theirbaths.
"'Oh,' said one little robin as he ducked his head into the water, andthen shook all over and spattered it about, 'how nice a bath does feel.'
"The cloud king looked so bright and happy, that the mother birds wereafraid it would stop raining. 'Don't stop, Cloud King,' they chirped.
"'I won't,' said the cloud king. And the birds twittered and sang andwet their little throats with the delicious rain-water.
"After the cloud king and his army of raindrops had been working forquite a long time, one of the birds noticed that the new breakfast roomin the berry bushes was getting very wet.
"'It will spoil our berries for breakfast, I'm afraid,' he said.
"But the berries whispered back,
"'No; we like the rain too. We needed some water to drink. And more ofus will come to-morrow. Your breakfast will be better than ever.'
"So all day long the rain kept up gently. When it was almost bedtime whoshould appear but old Mr. Sun.
"'Shall I dry your little feathers?' he said to the birds.
"And every little bird in birdland was warm and dry and happy when hetucked his head under his wing that night."
THE ROBINS' SPRING CONCERT
The Grand Opera Chorus.]
"The robins gave their spring concert the other morning for thefairies," said daddy. "They give one every year just after most of theirfamily have arrived for the summer. It is one of the biggest events ofthe spring in fairyland, and they are so excited about it for days aheadthat they can talk about nothing else. They've practised so hard and solong lately that the day has been quite far gone many a time, when somelittle robin has been trying over and over again some important trillwhich he was going to sing alone.
"But the concert was given just at dawn. Mr. Sun came out for it,looking as fine as any king with a very dazzling golden crown on hishead. Then the dew-drops came and had reserved seats on the littleblades of grass. Some of the early butterflies were invited, and thelittle spring garden flowers opened their sleepy eyes and waved about,keeping time with the music.
"First of all was the grand opening chorus. Mr. Robin Redbreast had alittle stick with which he beat time, and all the robins sang a finesong which he had made up himself.
"Then came the solos. Miss Robin Redbreast sang a beautiful songall by herself.
"Then two little brother robins sang a song together--they called it a'duet,' which was very funny. They acted as they sang, and made all thefairies and the other guests at the concert laugh hard.
"But best of all was the band. It was a new band the robins had juststarted, and they were very proud of it. It was a great surprise to thefairies, for they didn't know the robins had a band. As you can guess,the robins had worked hard for a big surprise for the fairies. Tenlittle robins played the drums, which were tiny twigs from the appletree. There were little spring leaves through which some of the otherswhistled tunes, and the rest played on horn-shaped flowers.
"After the concert was finished and the fairies had clapped andclapped and waved their wands with delight, and the little robins hadbowed and bowed--and fallen down, sometimes making too low bows--theyall had breakfast. Such a breakfast! The most luscious of worms weregiven the little robins and a special dish was made for the fairies ofspring porridge, which Grandmother Robin had made, and which thefairies called 'Delicious.'"
THE CROWS AT THE FAIRIES' BALL
They Promised to Wait on Guests.]
"The fairies had one of their fine balls just two evenings ago,"said daddy.
"Among their guests were the brownies, elves, gnomes, many of thebirds, butterflies, humming-birds, red lizards, grasshoppers, andcrickets. The crickets had arranged to sing for the dancing and thehumming-birds said they would hum the tunes all the time that thecrickets sang. The robins sang some extra songs, and, of course, theother birds joined in the chorus.
"Then came supper time. The table was made of daisies and moss, and suchdelicacies! Well, it would have made your mouth water!
"They had the goodies that every guest would enjoy most. Not a guestwas forgotten. There were even little worms for the birds--and theother guests didn't mind at all, as they knew the robins and oriolesand other bird guests loved little worms. They were given to the birdsin special dishes made of grass.
"But just as all the guests sat down to supper the fairy queen said:'Come, all my fine waiters!' And as she said this she waved her wandhigh in the air.
"Then from far and near the blackest of black crows flew down andalighted all around the table. They had promised the fairy queen to bejust as good as good could be, and to wait on all the guests beforethey had anything at all to eat. They were quite willing to do this,for they had never been invited to a ball given by the fairies beforeand they were highly flattered.
"They all had had their black suits polished and brushed with thegreatest care and they wore very fine aprons and hats made of greenleaves. Every time a guest said 'Thank you' when anything was passed, acrow would say, 'Caw-caw,' which means 'You're welcome.'
"The crows always say 'Caw-caw' to almost everything, but it is justthe tone they use that makes the 'Caw-caw' mean something quitedifferent each time they want it to. At the end of the supper, after thecrows had had a feast, too, the fairy queen asked them if they wouldn'tsing the old, old song about blackbirds being baked in a pie.
"At first the crows looked a bit sad, but then they said: 'Why, ofcourse, we'll be happy to sing it. It's lots of fun to sing about suchthings after we have had a feast and know quite well that the fairyqueen wouldn't bake us in a pie.'
"How the guests did laugh to hear the crows singing about blackbirdsbeing baked in a pie--and stopping every minute to shout out, 'Not us,though, oh, no!'--and the fairy queen was delighted."
THE NAUGHTY LITTLE SICK SNOWBIRD
The Bird Began to Recover.]
Daddy had been encouraging Jack and Evelyn to feed the little birdsthat came outside the window. So one evening when it was time fortheir story he told them about the Christmas a little snowbird hadhad the year before.
"He was a very self-willed little fellow," commenced daddy, "and hethought no one knew so much about life as he did. During the autumn hehad become very chummy with the sparrows. His daddy and mother didn'tlike that much, as they were afraid he would become as rude and noisy asthe sparrows were.
"When the cold weather came the snowbirds decided to leave, but thelittle wilful snowbird was nowhere to be found. 'Where could he havegone?' asked Mother Snowbird, and daddy said, 'Oh, probably he left thismorning with the robins and wrens, for I saw him playing with them!'That eased Mother Snowbird's fears, and off they started.
"When the little snowbird saw that his family had flown away he came outfrom his hiding-place. He really felt a little homesick and was sorry hehadn't gone, too; but, of course, he didn't dare admit it, for thesparrows had told him only stupid children were obedient. They admiredhis naughty disobedience and thought it was a great joke to worr
y hisfamily.
"A few weeks went by, and the days became colder and colder. One nighthe felt so cold and so unhappy that he flew away from the sparrows,expecting to die any moment.
"The next morning he was found, half dead, by a little girl. She tookhim in her house, warmed his frozen feet and fed him bits of crumbs anddrops of water. Slowly he began to recover.
"It was the day before Christmas, and he was perched on the window-sillin the sun, when, to his huge joy, he saw Daddy and Mother Snowbirdoutside the window. He flew against the window-glass. The little girlcame rushing into the room to see what the trouble was. She was surefrom his joyous actions that the other two snowbirds were his daddy andmother, so she opened the window, and the little bird flew out.
"'Oh, dear, we've been so frightened!' said Mother Snowbird.
"'Yes,' said Daddy Snowbird; 'we've been on ever so many trips lookingfor you, but now we'll hurry down home and fly fast, so as not to getcold, and then we'll be there in time for Christmas day. All the littlebirds will be there waiting for the Christmas party.'
"You may be quite sure the little snowbird never had a happierChristmas, and he realized that the older birds knew what was bestfor him."
A SPARROW CALLS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS
Mr. Hippopotamus Was Having His Bath.]
"The hippopotamus who lived in the zoo had a very strange caller theother day," said daddy.
"Into the animal house flew a sparrow. The keeper called out to him:
"'Where are you going, sparrow?' But the sparrow did not answer. He flewright through the animal house until he reached Mr. Hippopotamus' cage.Mr. Hippopotamus was having his bath, and he would not be interrupted.
"The sparrow was rather annoyed that Mr. Hippopotamus didn't want tocome right out of the water to talk to him, and he scolded from hisperch on the wire of the cage. There he sat scolding away, and thehippopotamus kept on splashing and spluttering as he took his bath.
"Soon the hippopotamus came up from the water and sat in the corner ofhis cage, and the sparrow hopped over to a wire a little nearer.
"'Mr. Sparrow, I am sorry to be late for your call,' said thehippopotamus, 'but the truth is I wanted to look my best.' And hisgreat, long, funny old face grinned, and he showed his big teeth.
"'That's all right,' cheerfully chirped the sparrow. 'I have plenty oftime to-day. My family have gone a-shopping for bread crumbs which theyfind every day in a certain back-yard. And I have nothing to do. I'vecome to tell you the news of the world outside.'
"So the sparrow told Mr. Hippopotamus all about the wild scampers thesparrows had been having. He told about their quarrels and how they hadmade up again. And he bragged about their friends and relations, thesong sparrows, who had been very friendly this year.
"When Mr. Sparrow began to be boastful, the old hippopotamus said:
"'You think I'm finer than my cousins in that cage over there?' And Mr.Hippopotamus pointed to some other members of his family. They were verymuch smaller and their coats looked just like chocolate. 'And,' he wenton, 'when the children see those silly cousins of mine they always say,"Why, they look just like tins of chocolate taffy left to cool." Theynever can say anything quite so stupid about me.'
"'Well,' said Mr. Sparrow, 'I must be off now, as it's time the breadcrumbs and the family were coming home.' He spoke about the bread crumbsfirst, you notice. 'But I'll come and see you soon again, old hippo,'and the little sparrow flew off."
THE ROBINS COME TO THE RESCUE
Saving the Little Birds from Danger.]
The honeysuckles were beginning to bud. Already the humming-birds werehovering near and had built a nest right in the heart of the vine. Thisvine was in a nice old-fashioned garden, but near by there was a vacantlot which was very swampy.
"You know the garden by the vacant lot?" began daddy.
"Yes," replied both children, "are you going to tell us a storyabout that garden?"
"I am going to tell you," said daddy, "about the mother humming-birdwhose little ones were attacked by a cruel snake when they were rescuedby the brave robins.
"The snake had come over from the vacant field and had crawled up thehoneysuckle vine as the mother humming-bird had gone off for some food.Some robins hovering near had seen the awful snake. They had cried outin terror and had flown over to the nest.
"The mother humming-bird heard the cries and hurried back, but therobins had frightened off the snake. The snake was not a very large one,and really he had been frightened by all the noise the robins had made,and when he saw so many birds flying toward him he got away veryquickly.
"The mother humming-bird got back just as the snake was leaving thenest.
"She couldn't thank the robins enough for flying to the rescue andsaving her beloved little ones, but the robins didn't want any thanks.They were thankful, too, that the dear little birds had been saved, forbirds are very loyal to one another and will risk any danger to saveeach other."
"I am so glad," said Evelyn, "that the little humming-birds were saved,for I love to see them having such a good time in the honeysuckle vines,and the more there are of them the nicer it makes the summer seem."
"It was brave of the robins to come to the rescue, though, wasn't it,daddy?"
"Indeed it was," said daddy; "but almost all animals and birds willdo anything they can to help one another, and they seem to forgetthat there is such a thing as being afraid if they see any creaturein danger or distress.
"After the mother humming-bird had recovered from the awful fright, andafter the little ones had shown that they were perfectly well andstrong, with no ill effects from their fright, the mother humming-birdinvited the robins to partake of the delicious meal she had succeeded ingetting before the cries came from the robins."
"THE MOTHER HUMMING-BIRD HURRIED BACK."--_Page 95_]
MR. AND MRS. OWL'S STOREROOM
Waited on All Who Came.]
"Two owls," commenced daddy, "lived in a soft feathered nest in the bigwoods. After a time they got a little tired of talking and scolding andhunting and midnight parties, so Mrs. Owl, who was always saving oddsand ends, thought it would make them very rich and happy if they had astore.
"'What,' said Mr. Owl, 'a store?'
"'Yes,' replied Mrs. Owl, as she smoothed her feathers and polishedher back with a bit of bark. 'It will be not only a store, but asupper-room.'
"'Whatever do you mean?' said Mr. Owl.
"'You know,' continued Mrs. Owl, 'that in the world where peoplelive they have parties. There is nothing new about that. Don't wehave parties? Yes.'
"Mrs. Owl always answered all her own questions when she had somethingmost important to say, and when she did not want to have anyoneinterrupt her or disagree with her.
"'And so, if we have parties in the woods, think what a great help itwill be to all the wood animals and the fairies and brownies and gnomesif we have a supper-room attached to our store--where after the partiesthe wood creatures can come and have supper.'
"Mr. Owl sat up very straight and said, 'To-wit, to-who,' or it soundedvery much like that. What he meant was that he thought it an excellentscheme. And he went on to tell Mrs. Owl that she could fix up all thedishes for the supper and decorate the tables--and he would go forth andhunt for the good things to eat.
"The store was started right away. The animals came to buy their thingsin the daytime--and as Mr. and Mrs. Owl were asleep they would simplytake them away and not pay for them at the time.
"That didn't bother Mr. and Mrs. Owl at all, though. They wanted tohave such a fine store that all their things would be taken, and theyleft notes for the little animals saying:
"'Take all you like. We must sleep and think up more wonderful things todo for you. As for pay--we don't want it. We're already to be envied forour knowledge. We don't even have to go to school--and are alwayscleverer than those who do go!'
"The animals were much amused at the conceit of Mr. and Mrs. Owl, butthey had to admit that their store was a great success
. And as fortheir supper-room--it was perfect!
"Every evening it was very gay, with the chatter of many of the woodanimals and the fairies, after different parties and frolics. Mrs. Owlmade the most delicious goodies, and always made the tables look veryattractive with wild flowers.
"As for Mr. Owl, he put on a big white apron and a white hat and waitedon all who came to the supper-room, and often he would make wise, wisespeeches for the benefit of all around him."
POLLY WAS THE HEROINE OF THE FIRE
Shrieked at the Top of Her Lungs.]
Jack and Evelyn had been to see a friend of theirs who owned a parrot.The parrot, whose name, of course, was Polly, had completely fascinatedthem. She could dance when a tune was whistled, she took sugar from hermistress's mouth, and she could talk. She could say: "Pretty Polly,""Polly, want a cracker?" "Polly hungry," "Polly, want a bite?"
So when daddy came home that evening, of course Jack and Evelyn toldhim all about the parrot, and later he told them a story about anotherparrot.
"In a small town," said daddy, "a little girl named Alice owned a petparrot who was very clever. This parrot could talk a great deal and sayever so much more than just 'Polly, want a cracker?' This Polly couldwhistle, too, most beautifully, and could do a great, great manywonderful tricks. Of course, as you can imagine, Alice was very proud ofher parrot, and Polly was devoted to Alice.
Daddy's Bedtime Bird Stories Page 5