II.
| watcher | hopped | scatter | perch |
| knocked | alight | naughty | bathe |
| suppose | coaxing | fluttered | plunge |
It is very easy to see the birds teaching their little ones to fly. You will find the young birds sitting quietly on fences or trees. All at once the parents begin to fly around, with strange, loud calls. In a minute the little birds will fly out and join them.
Around and around they all go till their little wings are tired, and then they come down and alight again.
Once I saw a young crow who did not fly when his parents called. All the others flew around many times.
The mother's sharp eyes saw her naughty son. She flew right at him, and knocked him off his perch. The next time she called, he flew with the rest.
An old robin wanted to teach her young one to bathe. She brought him to a dish of water kept for their use by some people who were fond of birds.
The little one stood on the edge and watched his mother go in and splash and scatter the water. He fluttered his wings and was eager to try it for himself, but seemed afraid to plunge in.
At last the mother flew away and left him standing there. In a moment she came back with a worm in her mouth. The young robin was hungry, as young birds always are. When he saw the worm, he began to flutter his wings and cry for it.
But the mother jumped into the middle of the water dish and stood there, holding the worm in his sight. The little bird wanted the worm so much that he seemed to forget his fear and hopped in beside his mother.
She fed him, and then began to splash about. The little fellow stayed in the water and took a good bath.
A careful watcher can see the birds teach many interesting things to their young ones. But one must be quiet and patient, and not frighten the birds.
—Olive Thorne Miller.
