"Botheration!" said little Jimmy Crow after a few minutes. "Every word Grandmother Magpie says is true. We are kept like prisoners in this old nest. I"m going to fly!"
"Oh, don"t!" cried all his brothers and sisters. "You can"t fly even across the Shady Forest Path."
"Well, then, I can walk," said the naughty little crow, and he hopped out of the nest and fluttered down to the ground.
But, Oh dear me! Just then along came the Farmer"s Boy. In a twinkling, he caught poor Jimmy Crow and cut off the tips of his wing feathers with a big jack-knife.
"Now, my little black beauty, you won"t fly far," he laughed, and turned his steps toward the Old Farm.
"So, you"re caught, Jimmy Crow!"
Sang gay Billy Breeze, Playing hide-and-go-seek "Mid the tall forest trees.
"Don"t you wish you"d obeyed What your kind mother said?
But, no, you were stubborn, And had a swelled head."
A PRISONER
PRETTY soon along came Little Jack Rabbit on his way home from school.
Everybody in the Shady Forest knew Little Jack Rabbit. From his nest in the Tall Pine Tree Jimmy Crow had often seen him hopping by with the Squirrel Brothers.
How he wished now he had never left the dear old nest. Here he was, a prisoner, and there was the little rabbit, free and happy, hopping home from school.
He tried to flutter out of the Farmer Boy"s hand, but he was only held the tighter, so he lay perfectly still and wondered miserably what his mother would say when she came home and heard that he had disobeyed.
By and by the Farmer"s Boy opened the gate to the Farmyard and walked over to the Big Red Barn. Pretty soon he found an old birdcage, in which he put poor Jimmy Crow. Then he hung it up on the little front porch of the Old Farm House.
"What have you got there," asked the Kind Farmer when he came home for supper, "a young crow?"
"Yep," answered the Farmer"s Boy. "I picked him up in the woods; he was tryin" to fly."
It was very lonely on the little front porch after Mr. Merry Sun had gone to bed. Jimmy Crow huddled in one corner and watched Mrs. Moon climb over the hilltop.
He heard Granddaddy Bullfrog singing in the Duck Pond, and the splash of the millwheel as it turned slowly over and over. How he wished he had obeyed his mother and was safe at home, listening to his father tell the school news, and who was late, and who knew his lesson best.
By and by the Old Grandfather Clock in the Farm House struck ten and the lights went out. If it hadn"t been for Mrs. Moon it would have been pitch dark.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar hoot, and the next minute dear Old Parson Owl fluttered up to the cage.
It didn"t take him long to find the handle on the little door, which he opened softly.
"Jump out!" he whispered. "Hop after me as fast as you can. I"ll fly low down so you won"t lose sight of me."
"Am I dreaming?" thought the poor little crow, as he fluttered down to the ground and hopped after Old Parson Owl toward the Shady Forest. "If I am, I hope I"ll wake up in Mother"s nest!"
HOME AGAIN
IT was very late when they reached the Tall Pine Tree. The good Professor was sound asleep after a hard day"s work in the Shady Forest Schoolhouse and a long search for his little lost crow. He had hunted for him until it grew so dark that he had been forced to give it up.
But Mrs. Crow was wide awake and the little crows were crying softly over their little lost brother. Disobedience makes others unhappy as well as the one who disobeys.
All of a sudden Mrs. Crow heard the gentle flap of wings, and looking over the edge of the nest, she saw Old Parson Owl in the dim moonlight.
The next moment the sight of little Jimmy Crow hopping after him made her heart go pitter-patter.
"Here"s our little boy!" she cried, fluttering down to the ground, while all the little crow brothers and sisters looked over the edge of the nest, and Professor Jim Crow woke up with a start.
But, dear me! Didn"t they have a dreadful time getting the little crow up in the tree. You see, he could only flutter now that his wings had been clipped, and if Old Parson Owl hadn"t carried him on his broad back, I doubt if Jimmy Crow ever would have reached the nest.
By this time Mrs. Moon had crossed over the sky, and Mr. Merry Sun was getting out of bed in the gold and purple East.
The Shady Forest was beginning to awake. The birds were chirping to one another, and the Little Four-footed People were racing up and down the trees and scampering over the ground.
Parson Owl waited to see that everything was all right, and then, turning to Professor Jim Crow, said:
"If Little Jack Rabbit hadn"t come to tell me that the Farmer"s Boy had stolen Jimmy Crow, your little son would still be in the cage on the farmhouse porch."
"My dear Parson," said Professor Jim Crow gratefully, "I shall never forget what you and Little Jack Rabbit have done."
"Don"t mention it," said the kind old Parson, hurrying back to the Big Oak Tree before the light grew too strong for his big round eyes.
Oh, children, never disobey, And never break a rule, And never tell what is untrue, Nor run away from school.
Perhaps if all the little boys and girls who read this story will learn this verse, it will keep them out of trouble. If Jimmy Crow had, maybe he never would have disobeyed his mother.
THE STOLEN EGGS
MR. MERRY SUN was up bright and early. He shone on the Sunny Meadow and lighted up the dark places in the Shady Forest.
He even poked a sunbeam in the eye of Parson Owl, who winked and blinked and turned the other way.
Soon everybody was wide awake, for the Little People of the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow are always up with Mr. Merry Sun.
Little Jack Rabbit, looking out of the Old Bramble Patch, wondered who was bending over the tall gra.s.s in the corner of the Old Rail Fence.
Shading his eyes with his right paw, he looked again. Yes, it was the Farmer"s Boy. Pretty soon he stood up straight, holding his hat carefully in his hand. Then he turned with a whistle and walked home.
"I wonder what he"s been up to?" thought Little Jack Rabbit, and, being a curious little bunny, he hopped over to find out. Carefully peeping through the tall gra.s.s he saw a nice round nest, but it was empty. Only a gray speckled feather was left.