Wise Owl.  “Oh!  That’s quite obvious.  Strange I never thought of that before.  Farewell, come to see me at the old elm-tree beside the gray church!

     “Mud over twigs!  To-whit, to-whoo! 
     No better nest than that ever grew!”

Magpie.  “See these long twigs.  I just twine them round the outside.”

Sparrow.  “The very thing.  I’ll do it this very day.  I can pick some up on my way home.  I’ll choose the spout that looks down over the school-yard; then I can see the children at play.  They must like me for they never chase me away or hit me.

     “A nest with twigs twined round and round,
     Chip, chip!  No fear that would fall to the ground!”

Magpie.  “And see these little feathers and soft stuff.  What a comfortable, cosy lining for the nest they make!”

Starling.  “That suits me!  Off I go, I like a cosy warm nest.  It shall be in that old plum-tree in the orchard, on the side of the hill.

     “Feathers and down to make cosy and warm,
     That’s the nest to keep us from harm!”

Magpie.  “Well, Birds, have you seen how I made my nest?  Do you think you know how?—­Why, where are all the Birds?  They couldn’t wait until I’d finished.  Only you, Turtle-Dove, left!”

Turtle-Dove.  “Take two, Taffy, take two—­o—­o—­o!”

Magpie.  “Here I put a twig across.  But not two—­one’s enough!”

Turtle-Dove.  “Take two, Taffy, take two—­o—­o—­o!”

Magpie.  “One’s enough I tell you, do you not see how I lay it across?”

Turtle-Dove.  “Take two, Taffy, take two—­o—­o—­o!”

Magpie.  “Here I fly away from my nest for awhile!  I will teach no more Birds to build nests.  I cannot teach a silly Turtle-Dove who will not learn.  I heard him sing just now as I turned around,”

Turtle-Dove.  “Take two, Taffy, take two—­o—­o—­o,
                          Take two, Taffy, take two—­o—­o—­o!”

Laura F. Kready.

TYPES OF TALES

An Animal Tale[15]

The Good-Natured Bear

“I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, and the firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone.  I mean to walk on all fours, of course; the upright manner of my present walking was only learned afterwards.  As this infant effort, however, is one of my earliest recollections, I have mentioned it before all the rest, and if you please, I will give you a little account of it.”

“Oh! do, Mr. Bear,” cried Gretchen; and no sooner had she uttered the words than all the children cried out at the same time, “Oh, please do, sir!”

The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe, and thus continued,—­