THREE LITTLE CHICKS.
Three little chicks, so downy and neat,
Went out in search of something to eat:
Ter-wit, ter-weet!
Something to eat!
And soon they picked up a straw of wheat.
Said one little chick, "That belongs to me!"
Said the other little chick, "We'll see, we'll see!"
"Ter-wit, ter-weet!
It is nice and sweet,"
Said number three: "let us share the treat!"
One little chick seized the straw in his bill,
And was just preparing to eat his fill,
When the other chick
Stepped up so quick,
He hadn't a chance for a picnic pick.
They pulled, and they tugged, the downy things;
And, oh, how they flapped their baby wings!
"Ter-wit, ter-weet!
Something to eat!
Just please let go of this bit of wheat!"
Fiercer and fiercer the battle grew,
Until the straw broke right in two,
And the little chicks
Were in a fix,
And sorry enough for their naughty tricks.
For a saucy crow has watched the fight,
And laughs, "Haw, haw! It serves you right!"
So he snatches the prize
From before their eyes,
And over the hills, and away, he flies!
Josephine Pollard.
ROMEO THE SHIRK.
Sixty years ago, when grandpa was a boy, he had a dog called Romeo, who was made to do the work of churning butter. I never saw a churn that went by dog-power; but it must have been a clumsy affair.
The task could not have been an agreeable one, and I do not wonder that Romeo did not like it. One morning, when the churn was taken out, and the cream was all ready to be made into butter, there was no Romeo to be found. Long and loud were the calls made for him; but he did not answer to his name.