Daddy's Bedtime Bird Stories

by Percy F. Westerman

  "One night when every one in the town was fast asleep a fire broke outin a deserted barn, and, as there was a high wind, it began to spread.The house nearest the fire was the one in which Alice lived, and PollyParrot was the first to smell the smoke. She shrieked at the top of herlungs, 'Fire, fire!' and the whole household came rushing downstairs andfound the library, where Polly was, full of smoke.

  "They put on coats and, grabbing Polly's cage, rushed out of the houseas quickly as they could, for the flames were beginning to break throughon all sides. Alice's daddy rushed off to ring the fire bell, whileAlice, carrying her Polly Parrot, and her mother followed along. Soonevery one in the town was up and out in the street. The firemen managedto keep the fire from spreading, and they saved all the valuable thingsin Alice's home.

  "As everyone stood around watching the firemen throwing the water on thefire Polly kept calling out: 'It's pretty hot! It's pretty hot! I tellyou it's pretty hot!' That amused everyone, so that it kept up theirspirits during the awful fire.

  "At last, however, the firemen succeeded in putting the fire out, andone of the neighbors invited Alice and her mother and daddy to stay ather house, and, of course, Polly Parrot went along too.

  "Polly was now not only considered a very clever bird, but a realheroine, for she had awakened Alice and her family and saved their livesand also the lives of many others, for with such a wind many houseswould have gone had not the firemen been called out just when they were.

  "Instead of being vain about it, Polly Parrot acted as though her onepride was that Alice was more devoted to her than ever."

  THE WINTER HOME FOR THE WREN FAMILY

  All the Little Boys Helped.]

  "A number of little boys living in a small town were very muchinterested in carpentry," said daddy. "They made boxes and chairs andtables and all sorts of things.

  "They had a nice tool shop in an unused barn belonging to the daddy ofone of the little boys.

  "In the late autumn one of the little boys, who was very fond of birdsand especially so of the house wren, suggested that they should buildsome little bird houses under the low roof of the barn.

  "So all the little boys helped because they thought it was such a niceplan."

  "What is a house wren?" inquired Evelyn.

  "A house wren," said daddy, "shows his difference from other wrens byhaving black and gray lines on his brown back. His tiny tail pointsupward and his breast is grayish white. He is very friendly and loves tokeep the same home.

  "Now, the boys had noticed that one family of wrens had built a nest onthe side of this same barn two summers. They had flown away when thecold weather came each time.

  "The boys built a fine little house with great care and watched to seeif the wrens would go to it. And, sure enough, they did! Apparently theythought it was a beautiful house, although they, of course, wished tofurnish it in their own way."

  "How did they furnish it?" asked Jack.

  "They filled it with twigs, and in the center of the house they putmasses of dried grass and twigs.

  "The boys were interested watching the wrens, and the wrens seemedperfectly happy. There were no sparrows near by. They saw that the boyswere friendly, and they found the wooden house kept out the cold air.

  "Week after week passed, and still the wrens didn't show any desire tomove to a warmer place. On the very coldest day they would come out,flit about, hop and bow, and be as energetic as possible.

  "Of course the boys never touched the house after they'd built it, forthe wrens then would have left, and the wrens made their front doorso small that a sparrow couldn't possibly have gone inside and botheredthe little ones.

  "You can imagine how delighted the boys were; and to keep the wrens fromfeeling homesick for a warmer home, each day they'd scatter crumbsaround near the wrens' home, then watch the wrens hop down and take themup to the nest, and the wrens seemed to be very happy when they saw theboys. They acted as if they knew and appreciated that the boys had builtthem such a fine home."

  THE VAIN GOLDFINCH LEARNS A LESSON

  He Hid His Face in Shame.]

  "Mr. Goldfinch," said daddy, "was very conceited and proud of himself.To be sure, a goldfinch's voice is very much like a canary's--but it'snot quite so lovely--and he can't do the wonderful trills a canary canwithout his voice cracking. Of course, that isn't beautiful.

  "So the fairy queen made plans. First of all, she asked the birds togive her a concert, and gladly they all said they would.

  "And the next day, on a row along the fence of an old country road, nearthe woods, perched all the bullfinch family, the oriole family, thebluejay family, the indigo bird family, and the goldfinch family.

  "First of all they all sang in a beautiful chorus, and the fairy queenand all the fairies were delighted.

  "Before long the elves happened along by the old fence, and they said:

  "'What's up? A concert? May we stay?'

  "'By all means,' said the fairy queen, and then she whispered to theelves her secret. The elves sat along the opposite fence and perched onthe fence between some of the birds, too.

  "When the birds had finished singing in the chorus and were notsupposed to sing by themselves, they flew to the wings of the fairiesand perched there.

  "You can imagine how lovely the fairies did look, with their brightsilver wings, and the beautiful birds with their bright colors perchedeverywhere on the wings.

  "'Now,' said the fairy queen, 'remember what I've asked for.'

  "At that Mr. Bullfinch came out and sang in his sweet little way. Hedidn't try to sing anything very big or hard, but he sang a little,simple song, in the very best way he could.

  "Soon Mr. Goldfinch came out to sing his solo. At first his song wasvery fine and all the other birds cried, 'Bravo,' 'Wonderful,''Gorgeous,' at the end of the first verse. And they all sang these wordsin their own little bird ways.

  "But at the beginning of the second verse Mr. Goldfinch tried to sing atrill that was too hard for him.

  "And what do you suppose happened? Mr. Goldfinch's voice cracked, andall the birds tittered and flew off the fence, chatting with each other.

  "'Well, wasn't that a disgrace--and at the fairy queen's concert, too!'

  "As for Mr. Goldfinch, he hid his head in shame and felt very wretched,but the fairy queen waved her wand, and said to every one: 'This concertwas given so Mr. Goldfinch would learn to be natural and not try thingsbeyond him. We all like you as you are, without silly, vainactions--sing us a simple song now, and we'll forgive you!'

  "So Mr. Goldfinch learned he mustn't try to copy the canary."

  THE BATS HAVE A JOLLIFICATION

  How the Bats do Love the Night!]

  "The bats are all so glad the summer has come," said daddy. "For along, long time they have been staying in the caves and hiding away inthe tops of the corners and crevices. But last night they had theirfirst real jollification.

  "One of the bats had said it was high time to go out into the world, butanother bat had said it was still too chilly. Then a bat said:

  "'Well, what have we wings for?' And after that it was decided thatthey should be off.

  "They waited until it began to grow dark--and then some of the ones whohadn't been sleeping very well got up and flew about a little while.

  "Then the others who had been sound asleep woke up just as it becamevery, very dark. Oh, how the bats do love the night! They love it justas much as the birds love the daytime and the sun. For, though bats havewings, they are not at all like birds and they aren't in the leastfriendly with any of them.

  "So off they started on the jollification. First they whizzed throughthe air practising their different ways of flying. And after they hadall the strength back into their wings, they reached the garden of anold, deserted house, where they stopped for the rest of the night.

  "There they told stories and chatted and chatted. For they had a greatdeal to say after their long sleep, and they ran races, and did tricks,and frightened peop
le they saw coming along the road.

  "They would get so near that each person would say:

  "'Oh, dear me, I must cover up my head or that bat will get caughtin my hair.'

  "The bats thought that was a great joke, as they had no intentions ofcaging themselves up in someone's hair when they could be at thejollification. But they did enjoy playing pranks on the grownups.

  "And soon, much too soon, daylight came.

  "But what do you suppose happened? Such a wonderful ending to theirjollification! Didn't those thoughtful little brownies, who had knownall about the bats' jollification--and feeling rather sorry for the batsbecause they don't have such very good times--send some magic air-boatswhich picked up the sleepy bats as they flew along. Then they werecarried back to their cold, hard beds in the crevices of therocks--which they thought were so comfortable!

  "And as they crept into bed, there were never so many happy bats andpleased bats as these were at having had air-boats bring them homefrom their jollification!"

  THE REPENTANCE OF LITTLE JIM CROW

  Jim Ducked Him in the Brook.]

  "Little Jim Crow had been very naughty," began daddy. "He had beenbullying Sammy Crow for some time past simply because Sammy was not solarge and not so strong as he was. Jim Crow was quite a leader, too, ina very mean way, for he'd tried to influence a lot of other little crowsto think it was smart to tease Sammy.

  "Well, one day Jim got hold of Sammy and ducked his head into a brook ofvery cold water, where the ice had only recently melted.

  "Poor Sammy was so frightened he almost cried his eyes out, while Jimstood by and laughed and laughed. But Sammy was far from being strong,and the cold water made his head throb and ache, while his bones feltnumb and his feathers lost their nice shiny look. He complained so muchfor several days of his head that his family sent for old Dr. Crow.

  "Dr. Crow was a fine physician. He wore great big spectacles, and, oh,he was so kind! When he saw Sammy he became very much alarmed.

  "'Why didn't you tell me of this sooner?' said he.

  "'Oh, what's the matter?' asked Sammy's mother. 'Is he really very ill?We thought he had a little cold.'

  "Dr. Crow took from his black medicine-bag a little thermometer and putit in Sammy's mouth and at the same time felt his pulse. Then he pulledthe thermometer out. He looked very grave.

  "'Mrs. Crow,' said he to Sammy's mother, 'his temperature is very high,and he must be put right to bed. Put his feet in mustard and hot waterand bathe his head every three hours with witch hazel, and I'll callaround again this evening to see him.'

  "'Oh, you don't think he is going to die, doctor?'

  "'I think he'll live, but he is pretty sick and needs great care.'

  "After Dr. Crow left Sammy he went to Jim Crow's mother and daddy. Hewas very angry at what had been done to Sammy. When Jim's mother anddaddy saw Dr. Crow coming toward their nest they were afraid Jim hadbeen doing something awfully naughty, for he had stayed home very littlethe past few days, and they suspected something had happened.

  "At that moment Jim flew in boisterously, and the doctor told him howill Sammy was and of what he had done.

  "For some days Sammy lay at the point of death, but with Dr. Crow'sskill he finally got well.

  "And Jim Crow, who had felt like a murderer, became a good crowand realized it was very, very cruel to tease any one smallerand weaker than himself."

  THE RESCUE OF THE CANARY BIRD

  She Watched the Little Bird.]

  "I am going to tell you a really true story," said daddy, "somethingwhich happened to-day. I was walking along a rather poor part of thecity when I saw a number of children gathered in a group in a littleside yard of a tenement house. The children were screaming to one boy:'Oh, catch him! Don't let the awful cat get him!'"

  "Oh, was it a bird?" asked Jack eagerly.

  "Yes," replied daddy; "it was a bird, but not just the usual kind ofbird that is seen around city streets, for only the sparrows like thenoise of a city. Most birds like the woods and the country, where theycan have homes in the trees and can sing all day long.

  "But this was a tame yellow canary who had flown out of an open windowto pick up some goodies he saw on the ground, and a cat was after him."

  "Did they get him from the cat?" asked Evelyn eagerly, for she wasdevoted to animals and perhaps especially to birds.

  "Yes," answered daddy; "the little boy succeeded in rescuing him, butthe poor canary had been so frightened that his little heart wasbeating, oh, so fast, and the children were afraid he was not going tolive.

  "They all followed the little boy who had caught the canary just intime into the tenement house. The cat had knocked several feathersfrom the bird's tail.

  "Another child told me the canary belonged to a little girl who lived inthe tenement. He asked me to follow, too, for he said that the littlegirl had trouble with her back and had to lie flat all the time. Sheloved visitors, for so much of the time she was lonely. Her mother waspoor and out all day sewing, so the little girl's only companion was thecanary, who would sing for hours and hours. He seemed to know he mustkeep her cheered up.

  "So along I went too. We climbed some stairs until we came to a dingyroom where on a cot by the window lay a little girl about eight yearsold. She had big dark eyes, and when I saw her her cheeks were brightred from all the excitement.

  "All her friends had gathered around, each giving her a specialdescription of how the bird had been rescued. She was smiling with joyand watching the bird, who was now busily engaged nibbling at a littlepiece of apple which had been given him. Before long he began to sing,oh, so joyously, for he knew he was once more back in his happy home,where he would take good care to stay in the future.

  "I told the little girl of my Jack and Evelyn, and she said she wantedto see you both. Shall we all go to see her and her little bird someday?"

  "We'd love to!" cried Jack and Evelyn delightedly.

  SMALL FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUES BIRDS

  "We'll have our hose ready."]

  "The salamanders," said daddy, "are little creatures very much likelizards in looks, except their skin is not scaly as a lizard's. Theyhave four legs and a tail, and are very nice, kind and gentle.

  "Well, these salamanders agreed that they would have a fire department,and the next thing was to arrange for the hose and ladder. Finally itwas decided that their salamander cousins should be chosen to run thehose and ladder.

  "'We shall call ourselves the fire and water fire department,' saidone of the fire salamanders. 'It will be our business to rush in andrescue the animals who are in danger of being burned to death, and itwill be your business to help them down to the brook, where we'll haveour hose ready to sprinkle them with good, cool water.'

  "But days and days went by, and still no fire broke out.

  "'I know what's the trouble,' said another one of the fire salamanders.'We have no fire bell; there may have been fires that we knew nothingof; you never can tell.'

  "'Don't be gloomy,' said still another fire salamander. 'We'll have afire bell. I know where a kind old cow left her bell from last year.We'll put it by the stump just at the edge of the brook and all theanimals can be told to move it when there is a fire. Then we will allcome out and stop the fire.'

  "And soon notices were put up all over the woods and around the brookwhich read:

  "'To the Animals: Attention! In case of fire, ring the cow bellby the brook. The Fire and Water Fire Department of the Salamanderswill PUT IT OUT.'

  "These notices were read by all the animals, and the very next day thesalamanders heard the cow bell.

  "'Where's the fire?' they all shouted.

  "'Over there,' said Grandfather Frog, who was watching the firedepartment start off.

  "They wiggled and crawled as quickly as they could to the spot where thefire was. It was the vireo family's nest. You know the vireos are thosebeautiful, shy birds that live in the woods and have such lovely voices.The fire salamanders rushed right into the fire
and pulled out of thenest the vireo children just in time before their little feathers gotburnt. And, of course, the Mother and Daddy Vireo were able to fly out.

  "When they all reached the brook at last, the Mother and DaddyVireo sang the most wonderful song as a reward to the brave salamanderfire department."

  * * * * *

  Transcriber's note:

  Illustrations have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest paragraph break.

  "grown-ups" and "grownups" have been retained in both versions in this project.

  Opening quotation marks (") at the beginning of several chapters have been added without comment.

  "Well, I mean you to come" has been changed to "'Well, I mean you to come" page 56.

  "funny quack-quack talk." has been changed into "funny quack-quack talk.'" page 59.

  Printer's inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation have been retained.