“Well,” said the Parson, “give them a tithe of all you have. Give them every tenth fruit tree, and a corner of the strawberry bed. As for the rowan-berries, you must let them go.”
“And welcome,” said the Poet; and Bessie and old Joseph made no objection.
Next year the Parson’s compromise was carried out; and Man successfully asserted his right to share in the Blackbirds’ feast.
THE END
RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY.
WORKS BY W. WARDE FOWLER, M.A.
With Illustrations by Bryan Hook
TALES OF THE BIRDS
Uniform Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. Prize Library Editions. Crown 8vo. Ornamental Cloth, 2s. 6d. Cloth elegant, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. School Edition. Globe 8vo. 1s. 6d.
SATURDAY REVIEW.—“It is one of the most delightful books about birds ever written. All the stories are good.... He knows all about their social habits and their solitary phases of life from close and constant observation, and makes the most profitable use of his study as ornithologist by the prettiest alliance of his science with the fancy and humour of an excellent story teller.... The book finds sympathetic illustration in Mr. Bryan Hook’s clever drawings.”