The man behind the house is working busily in the garden. Millet must have thought of himself when he painted this man, for, like the father bird, he must work hard to get enough food for his family. Sometimes there was very little, and the bread had to be divided into such tiny pieces that the children were still hungry when they had eaten their share.
We know it must be about noon because the shadows in the picture are so short. What a nice big yard these children had to play in, and what good times they must have had playing all kinds of games! They had lived in the city of Paris several years and for that reason, no doubt, they liked to play "keeping store" best of all. They gathered acorns, stones, and flowers, and placed them on a big wooden box for a counter. Then they took turns being storekeeper.
Perhaps to-day it had been the boy's turn, and he had stood behind the counter ready to sell his goods. The younger girl had come first, carrying a basket. Probably they called the stones oranges or apples, and, judging by the overturned basket, the little girl must have bought at least a dozen. Next had come the little mother, with her doll baby riding in the cart. This cart is hardly large enough for the doll and so it had to be guided very carefully to keep dolly from falling out.
When the mother called, the elder of the two girls had caught up her doll quickly, leaving the cart behind; the younger sister had tossed her basket of oranges away in glee, while the boy forgot all about his store at the thought of the hot broth they were to have.
The high doorway of this little one-story, whitewashed house of plaster and stones is just wide enough for the three children to sit one beside the other. That great vine growing up beside the door is probably an ivy vine, for we are told that the little white cottage is still standing and is completely covered with ivy.
Everything you see in the picture is home-made,—the clothes, the doll, the spoon, the cart, the basket, and even the milking stool upon which the mother is seated.
Sitting there in the bright sunlight, these round-faced, happy little children will soon finish their broth; then they will be ready to begin the "store-keeping" game again.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. In what country did these children live? In what kind of house did they live? What grew up beside the door? What did their father do for a living? What was his name? Where did he paint his pictures? What kind of pictures did he like best to paint? why? How did he happen to paint this picture? Why did he call the picture "Feeding Her Birds"? Upon what is the mother sitting? What kind of a spoon has she in her hand? What is in it, and in the bowl in her lap? What makes you think the children are hungry? Which one is fed first? Which one will probably wait until the last? why? How are the children dressed? What kind of shoes have they? How many of you have ever seen wooden shoes? How is the mother dressed? What makes you think it must be a cool day? What do the shadows tell us of the time of day? What game did these children like to play? What did they have to play with? Who made their toys and clothes? What did they do when their mother called them? What makes you think they were happy children?
To the Teacher: After the story is told, the children should be allowed to act out the picture. Stools or kindergarten chairs placed in the schoolroom doorway, and a spoon, a doll, a cart, and a basket, which the children will gladly bring from home, are all the accessories needed. It is well to let the pupils act out the game which the children are supposed to have been playing when the mother called them, as well as the story in the picture itself.
The story of the artist. Shall we tell you something about the man, Millet, who painted this picture?