A SAUCY VISITOR.
NCE upon a time a mother-sparrow and her three children lived in a great big maple-tree, which stood before a great big house, which had a broad piazza in front of it. The mother-bird often used to talk to her children about the people who lived in the house, and their pets.
"See, Polly Dolly Adeline," she said to her oldest child one day, "see those lazy yellow canaries down there on the piazza. They have every thing they want. See how they are coddled while we are left to shift for ourselves."
"Boo-hoo!" said Polly Dolly. "I don't think it is a bit fair."
"I don't either," said the youngest of all. He was a pert little fellow. His name was Flop. He was so called, because, when he first began to fly, he would flop over on one side.
But he could fly well enough now, and so he said boldly, "I mean to go down to one of those cages, and eat some of that nice seed myself. I'll let young Canary know that I am as good as he."
At these words Mrs. Sparrow was so frightened that she fell off the branch; but she soon flew back, and said, "Flop, you naughty boy, don't you go! you may get killed."
"Cats, you know, Flop!" said Polly Dolly Adeline. "Cats with green eyes!"
"Pooh!" said Flop. "Who cares? I'm not afraid."
Flop flew gaily down to the piazza railing. Here he stopped, and looked around; while his mother and sisters watched him in fear and trembling. Nobody was on the piazza: so Flop flew straight to one of the cages.
"How do you do, my young friend?" he said, saucily helping himself to the seed that had been scattered. "I've come to take dinner with you."
Mr. Canary did not like this at all. "You've not been invited," he squeaked out, ruffling up his feathers, and flying at Flop with all his might. But the bars were between them; and Flop went on eating his dinner as calmly as possible.
Then the canary became so angry that he danced back and forth on his perch, and screamed. Flop made another very polite bow. "Oh, how good that hemp-seed tastes!" said he. "The rape-seed, too, is very nice,—nice as the fattest canker-worm I ever ate."
So he went on eating, looking up now and then to wink at his angry host. When he had eaten all he could find, he made his best bow and said saucily, "Thank you, sir, thank you. Don't urge me to stay longer now. I'll come again some other day," and he flew back to his anxious mother and sisters.
B. W.
