IV.

  Or perhaps to the garden
    Some bird has flown,
  And taught thee of freedom,
    Before unknown.

[Illustration]

  V.

  If I open thy cage
    And bid thee to fly,
  Wilt thou ever come back,
    To gladden mine eye?

  VI.

  Shall I hear thy sweet song,
    Morning and eve? 
  Or wilt thou forever
    Thy mistress leave?

  VII.

  Well, dear little bird! 
    I’ll open thy door: 
  Fly forth to the woods;
    I’ll cage thee no more.

  VIII.

  But when winter months come,
    With storm-winds that blow,
  Come back; I will shelter thee
    From the storm and snow.

THE YOUNG GLEANER

A FREE TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FIRST.

HOW WILLY MEETS THE YOUNG GLEANER IN THE FIELD—­HOW HE PITIES HIS MISFORTUNES, AND ASSISTS TO FILL HIS BAG WITH CORN.

One hot day in the harvest-time, a little boy named Willy got leave of his father to go out into the corn-field to watch the reapers bind up the sheaves and load the wagons; and he gathered the field-flowers, and formed them into wreaths to give to his mother, because she loved them dearly.  After running about until he was hot and tired, Willy seated himself under the shade of a tree, to rest and amuse himself with his flowers.  The poppies, corn-bottles, and darnel, he tied up into bunches.  As he was thus occupied, he saw a poor little ragged boy enter the field, his feet bleeding, and an empty bag slung by a cord around his neck.

Willy instantly felt sorry for the distressed boy, and went up to him, and asked him kindly what he cried for and what caused his feet to bleed.  And he made the boy sit down under the walnut-tree by him, and, by dint of kind inquiries, drew out of him this pitiful story:—­

[Illustration]

“We are five children, and our father and mother are very poor.  I am the eldest, and my father sends me out in the harvest to glean in the corn-fields, for we have no field of our own to reap, and the little money for which father toils so hard is barely enough to procure our daily bread; but I can fill this bag in a day if I work diligently, and I hope to make a little store against winter, when father is often unemployed, and earning nothing.  I went out at daybreak this morning, and had more than half filled my bag, when I had the misfortune to enter the squire’s large corn-field.  The corn was all reaped and bound up into sheaves.  As there were no other gleaners there, I found a good store of ears on the ground, and should soon have filled my bag, if the squire’s son, who was in the field, had not seen me.