"Cluck—cluck—cluck!" said Loony John.

His mother at last found him quietly sitting on the eggs.

"What are you doing there?" she asked, angrily.

"Sh—h!" replied Loony John. "Don't make any noise. I am setting."

"Did you put the hen in the stew-pan?"

"Cluck—cluck—cluck!"

"What do you mean by that?" inquired the good woman. "Speak!"

"I say that I am setting!" said Loony John, "and I will fly off the nest and scratch in the garden if you continue to disturb me in this manner."

"Why do you set?" his mother asked.