CHAPTER

       I. The finding of the magic flower
      II.  Little Luke and the Bob Lincolns
     III.  The story of the summer land
      IV.  Bob Lincoln’s story of his own life
       V. Little Luke makes friends among the wild folk
      VI.  Little Luke and Kit-chee the great crested flycatcher
     VII.  Why the Kit-chee people always use snake-skins in nest-building
    VIII.  Little Luke and Nick-uts the Yellowthroat
      IX.  Why mother mo-lo the cowbird lays her eggs in other birds’ nests
       X. The story of O-pee-chee the first robin
      XI.  How the robin’s breast became red
     XII.  How the bees got their stings
    XIII.  The story of the first swallows
     XIV.  Little Luke and A-bal-ka the chipmunk
      XV.  How A-bal-ka got his black stripes
     XVI.  How A-bal-ka the chipmunk helped men
    XVII.  Little Luke and Mee-ko the red squirrels
   XVIII.  The story of the first red squirrels
     XIX.  How the red squirrel became small
      XX.  Little Luke and mother Mit-chee the ruffled partridge
     XXI.  Why the feathered folk raise their heads when they drink
    XXII.  Little Luke and father Mit-chee
   XXIII.  The story of the first partridge
    XXIV.  Why partridges drum
     XXV.  Mother Wa-poose and old Boze the hound
    XXVI.  Mother Wa-poose and old Klaws the house cat
   XXVII.  The rabbit dance
  XXVIII.  Why the wild folk no longer talk the man-talk
    XXIX.  The tale of sun-ka the wise dog
     XXX.  How the dog’s tongue became long
    XXXI.  The story of the faithful dog

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THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER

I. THE FINDING OF THE MAGIC FLOWER

It was June and it was morning.  The sky was clear and the sun shone bright and warm.  The still air was filled with the sweet odor of blossoming flowers.  To little Luke, sitting on the doorstep of the farmhouse and looking out over the fresh fields and green meadows, the whole earth seemed brimful of happiness and joy.

From the bough of an apple tree on the lawn O-pee-chee the Robin chanted his morning song.  “Te rill, te roo, the sky is blue,” sang he.

From the lilac bush Kil-loo the Song Sparrow trilled, “Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, the air is sweet.”

Over in the meadows Zeet the Lark fluttered down upon a low bush and sang, “Come with me, come and see,” over and over.  Then he dropped down into the grass and ran off to the nest where his mate was sitting on five speckled eggs.

Bob-o’-Lincoln went quite out of his wits with the joy of life.  He flew high up into the air, and then came fluttering and falling, falling and quivering down among the buttercups and daisies.  He was very proud of himself and wanted everybody to know just who he was.  So he sang his own name over and over.  With his name-song he mixed up a lot of runs and trills and thrills that did not mean anything to anybody but himself and his little mate nestling below him in the grass.  To her they meant, “Life is love, and love is joy.”