Little Robins' Love One to Another
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Jack alighted on the wires, and called her by the most endearing terms.
Mr. Robin perched on a bough hanging over the piazza, and contemplated them with strong emotion. "O, how cruel!" he exclaimed, "to separate such loving hearts."
At this moment the tall boy, with his sister, came to the door, and the father listened earnestly to their voices, to learn whether they would be friends to his imprisoned child.
"Good by, father; bid mother and Molly good by for me," cried Jack. "I have determined to remain in captivity with Katy, rather than leave her to pine and die alone. Yes, darling sister, I love you better than freedom, or even than life. Here I will stay to comfort you with my affection."
Dear little captive, how her heart beat and her bosom swelled when she heard this! She flew to the upper perch of the cage, and put her beak lovingly to his.
"I cannot deny such a wish, my dear Jack," said Mr. Robin, "though it will pierce your mother's heart with sorrow to be deprived of two children. I love you better for your ardent affection; but I do not at all despair of your release. Good by, dear ones; I go to consult our friends at the cottage."
As soon as he was fairly out of sight, the tall boy brought a stool, and stood upon it, to take the cage down from the hook, and carried it into the house, Jack still remaining perched upon the wires.
There were poor Katy's tail feathers still lying on the floor; but the heroic bird cared not for those. He only longed to have the door opened, that he might feel his sister's soft head nestling once more against his own breast.
He did not have to wait long, for as soon as the room doors were carefully secured, the cage was opened, when he flew in.
"Now, darling," said he, "we must be all the world to each other. Let us forget every thing else in the joy of being reunited."
Katy was so happy, that she could only flutter her wings, and give gentle cries of delight.
As soon as they became somewhat composed, Jack hopped down from the perch to examine the cage. Like that in which Canary was confined, it had conveniences for eating and drinking, and a nice bath tub. In addition to this, the little girl soon stuck between the wires a piece of cracker and a large lump of sugar.
"This stone, my dear," said Jack, "is, I suppose, for us to sharpen our beaks upon."
"O, how sweet!" exclaimed Katy, as she tasted the sugar; and before they left it, they had diminished it about one half.
When the tall boy thought they were a little wonted to their new home, he hung them out in the sun again; and here we will leave them while we return to their parents.
Mrs. Robin was indeed sorely grieved when her husband returned alone. Molly still continued to suffer so much from the shock she had received, that she could scarcely fly to the ground for her food.
"I still have hope," cried Mr. Robin, "that our friends may find a way to relieve us, if we can make them understand what our trouble is."
It was in vain, however, that he chirped, and cried, and flew from the door off in the direction of his distressed children; and thus day after day and week after week went by, and still Jack and Katy remained in captivity.
Mr. and Mrs. Robin, with Molly, visited them many times in a day, and carried them fine worms. Nor did they wholly forsake Canary, whose fate was even worse than their own. They carried many tender messages from one cage to the other, thus enlivening the imprisonment of both.
Dick, to his parents' great sorrow, had expressed little sympathy for his brother and sister, and had never once visited them, though he gave as a reason that he feared himself being captured. He was joined now almost wholly to Mrs. Bill's family, and seldom returned to his parents' nest.
CHAPTER VII.
THE RESTORED ROBINS
One morning, Mr. Robin, his wife, and Molly, came, as usual, to the cottage for crumbs. They were very much excited, and hopped hurriedly about the room, flapping their wings and jerking their tails incessantly.
"What can they want?" exclaimed Annie. "There is something the matter, I am sure."
Grandpa gazed thoughtfully at them, and then said, "The little one has never been as cheerful since the loss of her companions; perhaps they are intending to leave this part of the country."
"O, I hope not!" exclaimed Annie, almost ready to cry. "I should miss them dreadfully."
This was indeed the case, Mr. and Mrs. Robin having long given up all hope of procuring the release of their children; and finding that they were well fed, had concluded to leave for a time, in the hope that change of scene would restore Molly to health.
Fred and Annie were sincere mourners for their pretty birds; and though many others came and sang on the old elm tree, they insisted that no songs were so sweet as those sung by their old friends. Their school commenced, however, about that time, and this somewhat diverted their minds.
On rainy days, Annie begged her grandfather for a story about birds; and he smiled as he related the account of a stork who refused to be comforted when separated from his mate, until a looking glass was placed in his house, that reflected his own image, which he took to be his mate, and was thus pacified.
He also told her about the blind woman who was led to church every Sunday by a tame gander, who took hold of her gown with his bill.
He related to them the story of the strange attachment which was formed between a goose and a fierce dog, so that she made her nest in his kennel, and sat on her eggs with her head nestled against his breast.
To these incidents of birds he added that also of the raven who regularly travelled over the stage road in one coach, until at a certain town he met another coach of the same line in which last he took passage and returned to his home.
We must now pass over several months, and relate an adventure which occurred late in the fall. Fred and Annie one morning received an invitation to a party given by one of their schoolmates, on the afternoon of the same day.
As they entered the house, dressed in their Sunday suits, their countenances glowing with pleasure, Fred heard the familiar chirp of a robin, and, glancing to the window, saw a large cage containing a pair of their favorite birds.
"O Fred!" cried Annie, suddenly, growing pale with excitement "there are our lost robins."
Jack and Katy (for it was indeed they) instantly recognized their young friends. They flew rapidly from one side of the cage to another, striking their wings against the wires in their vain efforts to fly to her.
Mrs. Jones, the lady of the house, at that moment entered the room. Fred advanced toward her, and fixing his frank eyes full on her face, said, "Those are our robins, ma'am."
"Do you think so?" she asked, with a smile. "If you can prove that they belong to you, you shall have them, cage and all; but they have been here a long time."
"If you will please open the cage, I will show you that they know us," said the boy, earnestly.
"What is it?" inquired Mr. Jones, coming forward and joining the group.
His wife repeated what Fred had said.
"What makes you think they are yours?" asked the gentleman, kindly.
"Their parents came and built a nest in our tree," said the boy. "When the little ones were hatched, we always fed them, and they grew so tame they would eat crumbs from our mouths, hop about the room, and alight on our heads."
"Yes!" cried Annie; "and one we tackled, that largest one, into a paper cart, and he drew it all round the room, and then flew with it to the top of the mirror."
"How many young ones were there?" asked the lady.
"Four," answered Fred; "but one was a naughty bird, and his parents had a great deal of trouble with him. The other was a little darling; but after these went away, and did not come back, she pined, and at last the old robins flew away with her."
Annie then related how Molly was fastened to the nest.
The whole party of children were standing about eagerly listening. "Well," said the gentleman, "I will close the doors of the room and open the cage. If they fly to you, or seem in any way to recognize you, I will restore your property."
"And the cage too," said the lady.
"Birdie, birdie," called the little girl.
Katy hopped quickly from her perch, and flying over the heads of the others, alighted on Annie's shoulder.
Jack quickly followed, and perched on her head.
"If you will please give me some crumbs," said the happy girl, tears of joy standing in her eyes, "I will show you how they eat from my mouth."
"Here, birdie," she cried, placing a piece between her teeth.
Jack alighted on her finger, then flew forward and caught the crumb in his beak, after which both he and his sister repeated the feat many times.
Mr. Jones laughed heartily, as he called his little girl to his side, and putting a piece of sugar in her mouth, told her to call the robins as Annie had done.
She did so; but though Jack and Katy turned their bright eyes toward the sugar, of which they were very fond, and chirped loudly for it, yet they would not leave their old friends.
Mr. Jones bade Fred take the birds, while Annie left the room, to see whether it was not accident which had led them to alight on her head. But the moment she returned, they flew to meet her, and showed the greatest pleasure when she caressed them.
"I'm afraid," said the gentleman to his daughter, "that you'll have to give up your pets."
"I don't care for them now," answered the child. "They never play any tricks for me; they only stay cooped up in their cage."
"When you go home, then, you may carry them," said the lady. "But how will you get them back to the cage?"
There was some difficulty in this, to be sure; for Katy and Jack, having once tasted the joys of liberty, did not like to return to captivity again. But at length by coaxing they succeeded in making them enter the door, which was quickly closed upon them.
"O mother! O grandpa! what do you think Fred is bringing?" shouted Annie, running forward and opening the cottage door.
Now, being so near the end of my book, I can only tell my young reader, in a few words, how delighted the robins were to return to their old home; – how in pleasant weather they flew around the nest in the elm tree, but always returned to the cage at night; – how during the cold winter they learned to warble forth their thanks to the dear children who had proved such loving friends; – how the old robins returned with the warm breath of spring, and were welcomed with delight by Jack and Katy, who had begun a nest of their own; – how Molly had found a mate, and built a nest on a bough near her parents; – and how sweetly at sunrise and at sunset they all carolled rich music, until the whole air resounded with their song.
Of Dick nothing was known by his parents, until their new brood was hatched, when one day a robin perched on a bough of the elm tree, and after gazing around for a moment, was recognized as the lost bird. Then were loud chirpings and great rejoicings, especially after he told them he had reformed from his old habits, and was trying to train up his young family as he had been taught by his parents.