Pip.—­That was a fault, my dear Pop.  I do not think she will put us in a cage.  I think she will be good to us.

Pop.—­Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do.  After she has had her dinner, we’ll fly in at the window, and light on the table.

Pip.—­A good idea!  I agree to it.  Now, don’t you be afraid, Pop, and back out.

Pop.—­That I won’t.  First we’ll go and have a good wash in the brook, so that our feathers shall be all clean.

Pip.—­Another good idea!  Hunger sharpens your wits, cousin.

Pop.—­It sharpens my appetite:  I know that.

Pip.—­Come on, then!  Let us see who will fly the faster to the brook. [They fly off.]

UNCLE CHARLES

[Illustration:  Birds Drinking]

WHAT CAME OF A DIRTY FACE.

[Illustration:  What Came of a Dirty Face.]

    A little boy I used to know,
      Who went to a district school. 
    He learned to read, and he learned to write,
      And to whisper against the rule. 
    What fun it was with his marbles to play
      When the teacher was busy, and looking away!

    This little boy, one day, was sent
      A pail of water to bring,
    And like Jack and Jill away he ran,
      And back he came with a swing. 
    But, just as he entered the schoolroom door,
    Both he and the water went down on the floor.

    Oh, then, what a noise there was in the room! 
      The school-ma’am fetched a mop;
    But, the more she tried the water to check,
      The more it wouldn’t stop. 
    There never was such water to run: 
      It seemed, with the children, to like the fun.

    What was it that made the little boy fall,
      And show such a lack of grace? 
    I’ll tell you all, for I happen to know: 
      It was only a dirty face! 
    He looked at himself in the water-pail,
    And that made the little boy’s footstep fail.

WATERING THE FLOWERS.

“Why is it that flowers always grow so nicely for Mary?  I often plant seeds; but nothing comes from them.  They won’t grow for me.  But blossoms seem to spring right up wherever she goes.  They must have a particular liking for her.”

That’s what Master Tom said, one day, as he saw Mary watering the flowers.

Well, it is no wonder, Tom, if flowers do have a liking for such a lovable little girl.  There’s nothing so very strange about that.  How could they help liking her?

[Illustration:  Watering the Flowers.]

But, after all, perhaps the secret of the matter is, that Mary loves the flowers, and never forgets to take care of them.  She looks after them every day, and not by fits and starts, as some people do.