Maori hen.
Just then, such a scuffling was heard in the long grass, that Cis jumped up to see what was the matter, and there were two Maori hens[12] fighting over some bright buttons, tied together with string, which Hal had thrown down. They were jumping round and round each other in the maddest excitement, heads and short tails bobbing, and wings flapping. The brown owl cried, “Too fast, stop them!” but the music and the noise drowned his voice. At last the fatter of the two hens stopped a minute to get breath, and the other, seizing its opportunity, gave an extra tug, and carried off the buttons under the bushes. The fat hen ran after as fast as possible, calling out, “Stop thief! stop thief!” then they both disappeared in the bushes.
Little Cis thought she heard a parrot on a tree overhead call out something about “The pot calling the kettle black,” but as she did not see any signs of cooking near, she thought she must be mistaken.
Meanwhile, Hal had been gossiping with the birds and insects, and hearing many tales of fun and frolic in the greenwood, and many too of hair-breadth escapes from hard-hearted hunters and cruel boys.
“Do you know I am uncommonly hungry,” said Hal, coming up to where Santa Claus was watching. Hal had a little fairy with lovely gauze wings perched on each of his shoulders, and he added, “And these little friends of mine are thirsty too, and all the flowers are shut up, so they can’t get any dew; it really is too bad for them to close so early.”
At a nod from Santa Claus the birds flew off, and quickly returned with numberless fruits and berries; huge mushroom-tables sprang up rapidly, and soon were bending with the weight of the good things. Blue-bells held out their cups of sparkling dew to all, and the Tui and the Bell-bird revelled in honey, pure and golden, which the small wild-bees brought.
The fairies lightly perched on toadstools and the blades of grass, and were gallantly waited upon by long-legged spiders, whilst the birds vied with each other in paying attentions to little Cis.
Long and merry was the feast, only the Kiwi sat grumpily by, and, eyeing some curled-up earthworms, sniffed and said that there was nothing for him to eat. But alas! old Time stays not his flight, even in the brightest hours, and Santa Claus, pointing to the moon sinking low in the sky, the happy revel ceased, and good-byes were said. The fairies winged their flight to hide in the flowers’ sweet hearts; the insects sought their secret haunts in rugged bark and crannied soil; the birds flew off to their leafy homes, except the Kiwi, and he could not, having no wings, poor fellow! so he scuttled quickly about, hunting around for food, but alas! the earthworms and grubs had already hidden in the mossy soil, or beneath the dead leaves.