“I have had such a pleasant morning,” she said. “I met my sister and we went hunting together. I hope you did not mind. I felt quite easy about everything. I knew that you would manage it all beautifully, because you are so systematic.” She looked at him with such a sweet smile that he did not say any of the things which he had been planning to say about mother-birds staying at home.
Just then the elder nestling said, “I’m hungry, Mother! I haven’t had a Caterpillar in ever so long.”
Mrs. Cuckoo answered cheerfully, “All right, I’ll get you one,” and was about to start off when Mr. Cuckoo spoke up:
“You stay here and look after your newly hatched nestling,” said he. “I’ll get some food.”
Mrs. Cuckoo was delighted to find another egg hatched, and the morning away had been a great rest to her. Only one thing troubled her. “I do wish,” she murmured, “that I could have seen Mr. Cuckoo trying to do three or four things at once and be systematic. Now I shall never know how it worked.”
But she did know. Her first-hatched child said, “I’m so glad you are back. It made Father cross to hurry.” She also knew from another thing: Mr. Cuckoo never again told her to be systematic, or said that it was ill-mannered to hurry.
And that was the one day when Mr. Cuckoo did not make his two regular hunting trips through the maple trees around the big house.
