CHAPTER VIIIROBERT ROBIN TELLS THE STORY OF WINTER
It was well towards Fall when Mister and Mrs. Robert Robin’s second family were out of the nest, and flying around. The days were getting shorter and the nights seemed very, very long to Robert Robin, who kept the sharpest watch to see the first faint light of dawn in the east. For Robert Robin felt it his duty to waken everybody just as quickly as he was sure that morning was about to break. But as the sun came up in the east a little later each morning, Robert Robin had longer and longer to wait.
“It seems to me that last night was the longest night that we have had this summer!” he said to Mrs. Robin.
“Perhaps to-night will not be as long!” said Mrs. Robin.
“Perhaps not!” said Robert Robin, “but if to-night is any longer than last night, Iam going to get the children together and tell them about the Great White Bear and the Little Gray Mouse!”
That afternoon the clouds covered the sky, and towards night a fine misty rain fell, so that the afternoon was dark, and it seemed to Robert Robin that night arrived long before time for it.
“It is getting dark here in the middle of the afternoon!” he said.
The next morning a fog covered all the land, and Robert Robin had good reason to think that the night was far too long.
“Some one is taking our days away from us! By this time to-morrow we will not have any light left, if it keeps on this way!”
But in the afternoon the fog banks drifted away, and the bright sun shone, so Robert Robin felt much better, and he even sang a few songs to cheer up Jim Crow and the other neighbors.
“This is a very fine day!” said Mrs. Robin. And so it was.
The sky was clear and of the deepest blue, the wind was still, and the woods were quiet.Over in the farmer’s barnyard a hen was cackling, but in the woods not a sound could be heard. Mister Chipmunk was sitting on his old home stump, but he had nothing to say, and Mister Tom Squirrel had been working so hard lately, that he was too tired to talk.
“To-day would be a good day to tell the children the story of the Great White Bear, and the Little Gray Mouse!” said Mrs. Robin to Robert Robin.
“Well! Get them together, and I will tell them the story!” said Robert Robin. “I may as well do it one time as another, and it doesn’t take any longer to do a thing when you think of it than it does to put it off and then have to think of it again!”
So Mrs. Robin called to the children to come and hear Robert Robin tell the story of the Great White Bear and the Little Gray Mouse.
When the children had all gathered in the big basswood tree Robert Robin said, “Come with me!” and led the way to the other side of the woods, near the big stone under which Gerald Fox had his new home, and not farfrom the old stump fence. Here were many sumach bushes with their fernlike leaves and bright red bobs.
Robert Robin perched on a sumach limb, and straightened his feathers, then he sat up very much as if he were about to sing, and said:
“I have brought you to this side of the woods to tell you the story of the Great White Bear, and the Little Gray Mouse, because it was in this very spot that my father told me the same story, and it was in this same place that his father told the story to him, and no one knows how many, many years the family has gathered here by the big stone, to listen to this same story of the Great White Bear and the Little Gray Mouse. Sheldon! Will you please turn around and look this way?”
“All of you children should pay the closest attention to this story. You should not miss a single word of it, for it will be your duty to tell it to your children, just as I am telling it to you, for this is the story of Winter, and the story of why all robinsfly southward every Fall, and why they return to the north in the Spring!”
Then Robert Robin told them the story of the Great White Bear, and the Little Gray Mouse.
Robert Robin’s StoryIt was many, many seasons ago, before there was any north or south, and when there was only an east and a west, that there lived in the deep, dark woods of the north a King Robin. This King Robin and his mate and their four baby robins were all the robins that there were to be found in all the deep, dark woods.Every morning when the gray light in the east glowed through the woods, King Robin sang a song, and every evening when the sun was about to sink behind the hills of the west, King Robin sang another song.King Robin’s breast was covered with the softest and whitest down, but oneday Mrs. Robin noticed that the tiny tips of the feathers were stained with red.“You have some cherry juice on your white breast!” said Mrs. King Robin.“I will wash it off!” said King Robin.So King Robin plunged into Lake Win-a-ke-tea-cup and washed his white breast, but the stain would not come off, and each day the tiny tips of the soft white feathers of King Robin’s breast became a darker red until at last as King Robin sat in the top of his tall tree and sang his evening song, his breast was the color of the red sunset, and each morning as he sang his morning song, the red sunrise was no redder than King Robin’s breast. And King Robin grew very proud of his red breast which was stained by the dyes of the glowing sky.Near the foot of King Robin’s tree a Little Gray Mouse had his nest, and as the weather was neither too warm nortoo cold, the Little Gray Mouse often sat outside his door and visited with King Robin.One day they were talking about the Great White Bear. The Great White Bear lived in a cave. The cave was very large, and in one corner of it the Great White Bear had his nest. The Little Gray Mouse said to King Robin: “I am not afraid of the Great White Bear. Are you?”And King Robin answered, “Yes, I am very much afraid of the Great White Bear.”“I dare go into his cave, and tangle his fur!” said the Little Gray Mouse.“I would not do that, if I were you!” said King Robin. “If the Great White Bear grew angry, he might do something terrible to you!”“Pooh!” said the Little Gray Mouse, “who is afraid of a bear? I will stay in his cave all night, and tangle his fur into little hard knots!”And that night while the GreatWhite Bear was hunting in the woods, the Little Gray Mouse slipped into his cave and hid himself in a corner of the rocks.But when the Great White Bear came home he smelled the Little Gray Mouse and roared: “Some mouse is hiding in my cave! I smell a mouse!” Then the Great White Bear listened to hear what the mouse had to say, but the Little Gray Mouse was very much frightened, and was trembling all over and did not say a word.The Great White Bear was very tired, so he thought that he would not catch the Little Gray Mouse until morning, so he crawled into his nest and went to sleep.When the Great White Bear was sound asleep and snoring, the Little Gray Mouse came from the corner of the rocks and tangled the Great White Bear’s tail fur into little hard knots.The next morning when the Great White Bear awoke he found that theLittle Gray Mouse had tangled his tail fur into little hard knots, and the Great White Bear was very angry, and said to the mouse:“I let you sleep in my warm cave and then you tangled my tail fur into little hard knots!”The Little Gray Mouse was so frightened that he ran out of the cave and hid in the woods.The Great White Bear sat down and tried to untangle the little hard knots, but his tail was so short, and the place where his tail fur was tangled was so hard to reach that the Great White Bear could not untangle his tail fur, and he kept getting angrier every minute, and at last he became so furious that he rushed from his cave and began tearing the woods to pieces to find the Little Gray Mouse. But the Little Gray Mouse hid under some leaves, and the Great White Bear could not find him.The Great White Bear saw KingRobin sitting in his tree. “Tell me, King Robin, where I can find the Little Gray Mouse?”“I do not know where the Little Gray Mouse may be!” said King Robin. “He is hiding in the woods!”Then the Great White Bear sat down and thought, and thought, and thought, and at last he said: “I am going to find the Little Gray Mouse if I have to freeze the woods! You have always been a good friend of mine, King Robin, and I dislike to put you to any trouble, but if I were you I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains and along the river to the great bay!”King Robin thought that the Great White Bear was joking, but the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew the cold air into the woods, and soon the frost from his cold breath whitened the twigs of the trees, and turned the leaves many strange and beautiful colors.
Robert Robin’s Story
It was many, many seasons ago, before there was any north or south, and when there was only an east and a west, that there lived in the deep, dark woods of the north a King Robin. This King Robin and his mate and their four baby robins were all the robins that there were to be found in all the deep, dark woods.
Every morning when the gray light in the east glowed through the woods, King Robin sang a song, and every evening when the sun was about to sink behind the hills of the west, King Robin sang another song.
King Robin’s breast was covered with the softest and whitest down, but oneday Mrs. Robin noticed that the tiny tips of the feathers were stained with red.
“You have some cherry juice on your white breast!” said Mrs. King Robin.
“I will wash it off!” said King Robin.
So King Robin plunged into Lake Win-a-ke-tea-cup and washed his white breast, but the stain would not come off, and each day the tiny tips of the soft white feathers of King Robin’s breast became a darker red until at last as King Robin sat in the top of his tall tree and sang his evening song, his breast was the color of the red sunset, and each morning as he sang his morning song, the red sunrise was no redder than King Robin’s breast. And King Robin grew very proud of his red breast which was stained by the dyes of the glowing sky.
Near the foot of King Robin’s tree a Little Gray Mouse had his nest, and as the weather was neither too warm nortoo cold, the Little Gray Mouse often sat outside his door and visited with King Robin.
One day they were talking about the Great White Bear. The Great White Bear lived in a cave. The cave was very large, and in one corner of it the Great White Bear had his nest. The Little Gray Mouse said to King Robin: “I am not afraid of the Great White Bear. Are you?”
And King Robin answered, “Yes, I am very much afraid of the Great White Bear.”
“I dare go into his cave, and tangle his fur!” said the Little Gray Mouse.
“I would not do that, if I were you!” said King Robin. “If the Great White Bear grew angry, he might do something terrible to you!”
“Pooh!” said the Little Gray Mouse, “who is afraid of a bear? I will stay in his cave all night, and tangle his fur into little hard knots!”
And that night while the GreatWhite Bear was hunting in the woods, the Little Gray Mouse slipped into his cave and hid himself in a corner of the rocks.
But when the Great White Bear came home he smelled the Little Gray Mouse and roared: “Some mouse is hiding in my cave! I smell a mouse!” Then the Great White Bear listened to hear what the mouse had to say, but the Little Gray Mouse was very much frightened, and was trembling all over and did not say a word.
The Great White Bear was very tired, so he thought that he would not catch the Little Gray Mouse until morning, so he crawled into his nest and went to sleep.
When the Great White Bear was sound asleep and snoring, the Little Gray Mouse came from the corner of the rocks and tangled the Great White Bear’s tail fur into little hard knots.
The next morning when the Great White Bear awoke he found that theLittle Gray Mouse had tangled his tail fur into little hard knots, and the Great White Bear was very angry, and said to the mouse:
“I let you sleep in my warm cave and then you tangled my tail fur into little hard knots!”
The Little Gray Mouse was so frightened that he ran out of the cave and hid in the woods.
The Great White Bear sat down and tried to untangle the little hard knots, but his tail was so short, and the place where his tail fur was tangled was so hard to reach that the Great White Bear could not untangle his tail fur, and he kept getting angrier every minute, and at last he became so furious that he rushed from his cave and began tearing the woods to pieces to find the Little Gray Mouse. But the Little Gray Mouse hid under some leaves, and the Great White Bear could not find him.
The Great White Bear saw KingRobin sitting in his tree. “Tell me, King Robin, where I can find the Little Gray Mouse?”
“I do not know where the Little Gray Mouse may be!” said King Robin. “He is hiding in the woods!”
Then the Great White Bear sat down and thought, and thought, and thought, and at last he said: “I am going to find the Little Gray Mouse if I have to freeze the woods! You have always been a good friend of mine, King Robin, and I dislike to put you to any trouble, but if I were you I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains and along the river to the great bay!”
King Robin thought that the Great White Bear was joking, but the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew the cold air into the woods, and soon the frost from his cold breath whitened the twigs of the trees, and turned the leaves many strange and beautiful colors.
“What a pretty woods you are making!” said King Robin to the Great White Bear, but the Great White Bear only answered:“If I were you I would take my family and go across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!”And the next night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when the morning came the bare branches of the trees were singing in the wind, and the leaves were drifting in the hollows, and King Robin and his family were cold and hungry.“If I were you, I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!” said the Great White Bear to King Robin.And that night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when the morning came the ground waswhite with snow, and the streams were covered with ice, and the Great White Bear saw King Robin sitting in his tree,—“If I were you, I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay.”Then King Robin called his family together, and repeated to them what the Great White Bear had told him,—“Across the lakes and over the mountains and along the river to the great bay!” and King Robin made each one repeat it over and over again,—“Across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay.”And that very day while the snow was still falling and the cold breath of the Great White Bear was blowing through the woods, King Robin led his family southward across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay, and they could feel the cold breath of the Great WhiteBear on their backs until they reached the great bay.And the Great White Bear blew his cold breath through the woods until the forest was deep with snow, and the frosty air sparkled at night, and the frozen trees snapped with the cold. “Now I have frozen the Little Gray Mouse!” said the Great White Bear to himself, and he went back to his cave and slept until the woods were warm with the breath of the south wind, and King Robin was back in his tree.And that is the story of the first Winter, and we should never have had another were it not for the foolish Little Gray Mouse, who was hidden all winter under the snow. For if the Little Gray Mouse would but be content to stay well hidden from the Great White Bear, then we should have no more Winter, but in the Fall the foolish Little Gray Mouse runs through the corn stubble and the Great White Bear sees him. “There goes the Little GrayMouse who tangled my tail fur!” roars the Great White Bear, and again he blows his cold breath through the woods, and over the country, and all the cold weather we have is on account of that foolish Little Gray Mouse who tangled the tail fur of the Great White Bear!
“What a pretty woods you are making!” said King Robin to the Great White Bear, but the Great White Bear only answered:
“If I were you I would take my family and go across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!”
And the next night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when the morning came the bare branches of the trees were singing in the wind, and the leaves were drifting in the hollows, and King Robin and his family were cold and hungry.
“If I were you, I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!” said the Great White Bear to King Robin.
And that night the Great White Bear stood in the door of his cave and blew his cold breath through the woods, and when the morning came the ground waswhite with snow, and the streams were covered with ice, and the Great White Bear saw King Robin sitting in his tree,—“If I were you, I would take my family and go across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay.”
Then King Robin called his family together, and repeated to them what the Great White Bear had told him,—“Across the lakes and over the mountains and along the river to the great bay!” and King Robin made each one repeat it over and over again,—“Across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay.”
And that very day while the snow was still falling and the cold breath of the Great White Bear was blowing through the woods, King Robin led his family southward across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay, and they could feel the cold breath of the Great WhiteBear on their backs until they reached the great bay.
And the Great White Bear blew his cold breath through the woods until the forest was deep with snow, and the frosty air sparkled at night, and the frozen trees snapped with the cold. “Now I have frozen the Little Gray Mouse!” said the Great White Bear to himself, and he went back to his cave and slept until the woods were warm with the breath of the south wind, and King Robin was back in his tree.
And that is the story of the first Winter, and we should never have had another were it not for the foolish Little Gray Mouse, who was hidden all winter under the snow. For if the Little Gray Mouse would but be content to stay well hidden from the Great White Bear, then we should have no more Winter, but in the Fall the foolish Little Gray Mouse runs through the corn stubble and the Great White Bear sees him. “There goes the Little GrayMouse who tangled my tail fur!” roars the Great White Bear, and again he blows his cold breath through the woods, and over the country, and all the cold weather we have is on account of that foolish Little Gray Mouse who tangled the tail fur of the Great White Bear!
When Robert Robin had finished speaking, Mrs. Robin said, “Now, children, you must all repeat what the Great White Bear told King Robin,—‘Across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay.’” Then all the youngster robins repeated, “Across the lakes and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay,” and while they were talking, the cool wind began to blow from out the north, and Mrs. Robin said, “Feel how cold that wind is getting! The Great White Bear must have seen the Little Gray Mouse!”
CHAPTER IXMISTER ROBERT ROBIN HAS A BATTLE WITH THE SPARROWS
One morning Mister Robert Robin was awake earlier than usual. The wind was blowing cold and chilly, and the stars were shining out of a cold sky. The faintest glow was to be seen in the east, but that was enough to prove to Robert Robin that morning was about to break. Yet Robert Robin did not sing his Hurry-up song.
It was so cold and chilly that he did not feel like singing, and besides, he thought to himself, “Why should I awaken the birds and squirrels on a cold morning like this? There is nothing for them to do, so I will let them sleep!”
So Robert Robin took a little nap, and when he awoke the sun was just coming up, and then Robert Robin could see the frost. The roofs of the farmer’s buildings werecovered with it, and so were the fence rails, and even the leaves of the big basswood were white in places.
Mister Tom Squirrel was running through the woods telling everyone that there had been a frost, and that the chestnut burrs would soon be open. Mister Tom Squirrel was very much pleased, but Robert Robin could not help feeling sad. For he knew that Winter was coming, and that the Great White Bear was blowing his cold breath through the woods.
That very day the leaves of the big basswood turned brown, and were dead, but the leaves of the apple trees still shone with a glossy green. The apple tree seemed to like the frost.
Robert Robin did not sing at all, he felt as if he had lost something.
In the afternoon Mrs. Robin said: “When do we go across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay?”
“We might start to-day,” answered Robert Robin. “Let us call the childrenand go at once. We should be able to get as far as Watkins Glen, or Elmira.”
“Then we could sleep in the Glen!” said Mrs. Robin.
“There are too many crows in the Glen!” said Robert Robin, “but if we reached Elmira, we might stay with Cousin Phineas, who lives on the Heights!”
“Let us call the children and start right away!” said Mrs. Robin.
All the youngster robins came hurrying at the call, except little Sheldon. But little Sheldon could not be found, and though all the robins searched and called he did not answer nor come in sight.
“Wherecanthat child be?” said Mrs. Robin. “We cannot go south and leave him here all alone!”
“No!” said Robert Robin. “That would never do! The owls might get him!”
Jim Crow came flying along and asked, “What seems to be the trouble, folks?”
“We have lost little Sheldon!” said Robert Robin.
“Where did you lose him?” asked Jim Crow.
“We lost him from where he isn’t!” said Robert Robin.
“You keep on looking where he isn’t, and I will go and look where he is!” said Jim Crow, as he flew away.
“He may be playing with those Nuthatch boys!” said Mrs. Robin.
All the robins kept searching the woods for little Sheldon, but Mister Jim Crow flew over to Brigg’s Brambles, and in a very short time he came hurrying back and called to Robert Robin:
“Little Sheldon is over in Brigg’s Brambles playing I-spy with Billy Nuthatch!”
“Thank you very much, Mister Crow!” said Robert Robin, as he sped over to Brigg’s Brambles to get little Sheldon.
Little Sheldon did not want to come away. He was playing I-spy with Billy Nuthatch, and it was his turn to go and hide, so Robert Robin said, “You may hide just this once, then we must go!”
Little Billy Nuthatch “blinded” behinda big stump, and little Sheldon whispered, “Come on, Daddy!” to Robert Robin, and both of them flew away as fast as they could. And that was the reason why little Billy Nuthatch hunted all that Fall for little Sheldon Robin, and never found him.
Robert Robin and his family were now ready to start for the south. “Across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!” repeated Robert Robin, and all the rest of the robins repeated it after him,—“Across the lakes, and over the mountains, and along the river to the great bay!”
Over the little lakes they flew, higher and higher into the air, until the mountains were crossed, and the river lay in the wide valley below them. The river itself seemed a blue ribbon on a carpet of brown and green. Hardly a sound came from below, but the noise of their own wing pinions as they whistled through the air made a sound like the panting of tiny engines,—“Swish-swish-swish-swish!” as Robert Robin led his family towards the warm south.
“Isn’t that Elmira?” asked Mrs. Robin.
“Yes, my dear!” answered Robert Robin, “and we will soon be with Cousin Phineas.”
In a few moments they were all perched in the tree where Cousin Phineas had his nest. But Cousin Phineas was not at home. He had gone to Big Flats after sweet corn; Mister Oliver Sparrow came fluttering into the tree and asked:
“Hi sye, Old Top, don’t you know that this is not a public camping spot? We ’ave no accommodations for tourists! Better keep moving or Hi’ll call the force!” That made Robert Robin very angry, and he hopped very close to where Mister Oliver Sparrow was sitting and said, “In the country where I came from, we robins do not let an impudent little sparrow even speak to us, but I will not pull the feathers out of your back this time, if you will kindly tell me where my Cousin Phineas is to-day!”
“Hi! Hi! Fellows!” shouted Oliver Sparrow. “’Ere’s a country robin what is a cousin of Phin’s! Come and ’elp me pick ’em!”
The sparrows came rushing at Robert Robin and his family. (Page 105) (Exciting Adventures of Mr. Robert Robin)The sparrows came rushing at Robert Robin and his family.(Page 104)(Exciting Adventures of Mr. Robert Robin)
The sparrows came rushing at Robert Robin and his family.(Page 104)(Exciting Adventures of Mr. Robert Robin)
Screaming and shouting at the tops of their voices, scores of sparrows came rushing straight at Robert Robin and his family. Robert Robin was very angry, and the first sparrow that came within the reach of his strong bill, he sent reeling to the ground. Robert Robin shook the feathers from his bill and struck the next and the next. The air was full of the wicked sparrows. They came from the alleys, and from the parks, from behind the houses and stores, until a cloud of them hung above the maple tree, and filled the air with their screams.
Mrs. Robin and the youngster robins stayed close to the trunk of the maple, but Robert Robin scorned to seek shelter, and bravely fought against the great odds. Sparrow after sparrow went fluttering to the earth under the swift blows of Robert Robin’s strong bill, but on they came by scores, and Robert Robin was beginning to tire.
A woman was sitting in a rocking chair by her front porch window. She was readinga book and she was not paying any attention to the birds.
Her husband was a night watch, and he slept during the day.
“What are those pesky sparrows making so much noise about?” he called from his bedroom. “They keep me awake with their heckling!”
“They are fighting some robins in the maple tree!” said the woman.
“Let the cat out!” said the man.
The woman got up from her rocking chair and let her yellow cat out of the back door.
The big yellow cat heard the sparrows screaming, and tiptoed around the house until he came in sight of the maple tree. When the big yellow cat saw the flock of sparrows in the maple tree, he said to himself, “I will creep close to those birds, then I will pounce upon one and have it for my supper!”
The big yellow cat crouched under the barberry hedge and crept towards the sparrows.
Oliver Sparrow came flying straight at Robert Robin’s red breast. Quick as a flash Robert Robin struck with his strong bill, and Oliver Sparrow fell towards the ground. It was then that the big yellow cat sprang from under the hedge.
“A cat! A cat! A cat!” screamed all the sparrows, and away they flew back to the alleys, and parks, and behind the houses and stores, leaving Robert Robin, and Mrs. Robert Robin, and all their children very tired but unharmed.
“Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!” called the woman, and the big yellow cat went bounding across the lawn.
Just then Cousin Phineas came home.
“My stars! If there isn’t Cousin Robert, and all his folks!” shouted Cousin Phineas. “Welcome to our city!”
“Glad to see you again, Cousin Phineas!” said Robert Robin. “But I cannot say that I like your neighbors!”
“Have those wicked sparrows been here again?” asked Cousin Phineas.
“I have just had a fine fight with moresparrows than I ever saw before in all my life!” said Robert Robin.
“It must have been that Oliver Sparrow and his gang!” said Cousin Phineas. “They are very bad birds! I hope they did not hurt you?”
“Not a scratch!” said Robert Robin, “but see the sparrow feathers on the ground under this tree!”
“Well! Well!” said Cousin Phineas. “There are enough sparrow feathers to make a nest!”
“I pulled one out!” shouted little Sheldon, and sure enough the bold little robin was still holding a sparrow’s feather in his bill.
“He issomuch like his father!” said Mrs. Robin, “and some day he will be a great big man-robin and whip all the naughty sparrows, just like Daddy does!”
“He makes me think of our young Timothy!” said Cousin Phineas. “I am sorry he is not here! He is a very bright youngster! My folks have gone south for theWinter, but you must stay overnight with me, just the same.”
“We just dropped in to make a call, but, as you say, itisgetting rather late, so if it is not too much trouble, we will accept your invitation to remain overnight!” said Robert Robin.
“Good! Then we will spend the night at the Reformatory!” said Cousin Phineas, as he led the way over to the Reformatory trees.
Neither Cousin Phineas nor Robert Robin felt like singing a “Good-night” song, so little Sheldon perched on the top of a tall elm and sang one himself.
“Very good, Sheldon!” said Robert Robin.
“Very good, Sheldon!” said Cousin Phineas. “You have a very remarkable youngster there, Cousin Robert! He can sing a song and knows neither the tune nor the words! Very remarkable! Very remarkable!”
CHAPTER XROBERT ROBIN AND HIS FAMILY GO SOUTH
The next morning after Robert Robin and his family had stayed overnight with Cousin Phineas, a heavy frost whitened the roofs of the buildings and covered the fields with a carpet of frost diamonds. The white smoke from the many chimneys of the city floated upward in great fluffy cones until it seemed that the fluffy cones of snowy smoke were columns which bound the city to the sky.
“What strange-looking clouds you have here in Elmira!” said Mrs. Robin to Cousin Phineas.
“Yes! We have them go straight up so that we may fly between them!” said Cousin Phineas. “But how about a little breakfast?”
“I was just thinking about the samething!” said Robert Robin, “and after our long trip, I am sure that we are hungry enough to eat almost anything!”
“There are frozen apples in Arnot’s orchard, frozen grapes on Sullivan Hill, poison-ivy berries near Big Flats, and sumach bobs on the road to Millport!” said Cousin Phineas. “So you may have your choice!”
“Let us try the sumach bobs!” said Mrs. Robin. “I have not tasted one this season! They must be delicious after this hard frost!”
A railroad wound along the mountain side, and its right of way was lined with sumach bushes whose upper twigs were red with the crimson bobs, and it was here that Cousin Phineas brought Robert Robin’s family.
“These are very fine sumach bobs!” said Robert Robin. “They are the finest I ever tasted!”
“Their rich flavor comes from the engine smoke! This railroad has the best smoke of any railroad in this part of the country!Nothing improves the flavor of a sumach bob like nice black smoke!”
“I found a stone in my sumach bob!” shouted little Sheldon.
“Hush! Child! It is nothing but a cinder!” said Cousin Phineas. “And cinders are good for coughs! But I would not eat too many of them. They are hard to digest!”
When all the robins had eaten as many sumach bobs as they cared for, Robert Robin said:
“Cousin Phineas, we have enjoyed our stay with you, but it is a long way to the south, so we must hurry along!”
And Cousin Phineas said: “I wish that you had time to stay a week, but I know that you must be in a hurry so I will not coax you to stay this time, but now that you have found the way, you must come and see me often. Be sure and stop when you come back in the Spring. You will find me around here somewhere. I am planning to spend the winter in Elmira and vicinity!”
“Good-by, Cousin Phineas!” said RobertRobin. “Good-by, Cousin Phineas!” said all the rest, and away they flew into the sky, and soon all that Cousin Phineas could see of them was ten tiny dots against a high gray cloud.
“Swish! Swish! Swish!” went the sound of wings against the still, thin air. Below Robert Robin and his family the valley of the river widened into fertile farm lands. The glitter of the polished steel of the railroad rails flashed to their eyes under the rays of the morning sun.
“This is going to be a fine day for our trip!” said Mrs. Robin.
“It couldn’t be better!” said Robert Robin. “There is just enough breeze to help in our flying; we should reach the great bay before night!”
The youngster robins were very much interested in seeing the new country. The valley continued to widen beneath them, villages and cities appeared, and great locomotives, puffing clouds of smoke, pulled long trains, and pierced the air with screaming whistles; but what interested the youngsterrobins still more were the other birds. Far above, and as far as could be seen on either side, the air seemed alive with them. There were crows, and thrushes, and flickers, and birds of many other kinds. Large birds, small birds, big birds, and little birds. Black and brown and gray and blue and yellow and red, and birds of all colors in between.
Flying so high that they could not be seen from the earth, it looked to the youngster robins as if all the birds in the world were going south for the winter. Robins, robins, everywhere! Hundreds of them flying in little family groups or mingled together in great flocks. Robert Robin kept saying, “Kirk! Kirk!” so that none of the children would get lost.
“Keep close to your father, children!” said Mrs. Robin. “If you should ever get lost in this crowd, we could no more find you again than we could find Jim Crow on a dark night!”
A flock of wild geese called from overhead, and frightened little Sheldon verymuch. They were such big birds; flying close together, their powerful wings driving their heavy bodies swiftly through the air. Their hoarse-voiced leader honked his loud calls as he led the line, which, straight and true as a file of drilled soldiers, sweeping in perfect formation a half mile on either side, was so different from anything that little Sheldon had ever seen that the little robin screamed, “Help! Help! Help! There comes a row of fat hawks!”
“Those are wild geese and they will not hurt you, child!” said Robert Robin.
“What makes them fly so close together?” asked little Sheldon.
“They came from where the fog banks roll over the ice of the north!” said Robert Robin, “and they have learned to fly closely together so that they will not get lost from each other in the fogs.”
The swift-winged geese were traveling much faster than the robins, and soon they were far ahead of Robert Robin and his family.
“Why do they fly so fast?” asked Evelina.
“They have far to go!” answered Robert Robin, “and they must hurry or they will be late in getting there!”
“There is our White Spring!” shouted Mrs. Robin. “Let us stop there a while and get some new sand for our crops!”
So Robert Robin led his family down to the White Spring.
White Spring was a tiny little spring which gushed from the shady side of a glen. There were no houses nor other buildings near, and very few people knew that there was such a place as White Spring, but Robert Robin’s father had known of it and he had led Robert Robin to its tiny basin, and Robert Robin had shown the spring to Mrs. Robin.
The tired robins were glad to drink of its clear cool water which gushed out of the whitest sand.
“Fill your crops with this nice sharp sand, children!” said Mrs. Robin. “You will need good sand in your crops to digest those Virginia bugs!”
So all the robins filled their crops with the fine white sand, then Robert Robin sat down to rest.
“Do you remember the first time that I brought you to this spring?” he asked Mrs. Robin.
“Oh, yes! Indeed I do!” said Mrs. Robin. “That was when we were on our honeymoon!”
“There were many other robins around here then!” said Robert Robin. “Do you remember that Miss Lena Robin you were so jealous of?” laughed Robert Robin.
“I might have been jealous of her, but at least I was very polite to her and was not rude like you were to that handsome young Mister Percival Robin, whom you were so insanely jealous of! I remember your trying to knock him into the spring, and raving around like mad! Why! You chased him clear over that hill and you were simply too funny for anything, and all because he was very polite to me and hewasrather good looking!” said Mrs. Robin.
“Good looking?” said Robert Robin. “Good looking? Why! his head looked like a woodpecker’s, and his tail looked like a chickadee’s, and his legs were long enough for a killdeer!”
“That Miss Lena Robin, you were so infatuated with,——”
“Infatuated with?” screamed Robert Robin. “I barely remember how she looked. But she was not so bad looking! She had pretty eyes, and a charming manner, but what she could see about that long-legged Percival is a mystery to me!”
“What he could see about her is a deeper mystery!” said Mrs. Robin, “but let us not quarrel about those people,—they are nothing to me.”
“Nor to me!” said Robert Robin. “Call the children and we will be on our way!”
So Mrs. Robin called the youngster robins from the patch of bushes where they had been playing I-spy, and all of them whirred away into the higher air on theirway to the warm south, and the sound of their wings as they followed close behind Robert Robin went “Swish! Swish! Swish!” like the panting of tiny engines.
THE END
TheSunnybrook SeriesBy MRS. ELSIE M. ALEXANDER
A remarkably well told, instructive series of stories of animals, their characteristics and the exciting incidents in their lives. Young people will find these tales of animal life filled with a true and intimate knowledge of nature lore.
THE HAPPY FAMILY OF BEECHNUT GROVE
(PETER GRAY SQUIRREL AND FAMILY)
BUSTER RABBIT, THE EXPLORER
(THE BUNNY RABBIT FAMILY)
ADVENTURES OF TUDIE
(THE FIELD MOUSE)
TABITHA DINGLE
(THE FAMOUS CAT OF SUNNYBROOK MEADOW)
ROODY AND HIS UNDERGROUND PALACE
(MR. WOODCHUCK IN HIS HAPPY HOME)
BUFF AND DUFF
(CHILDREN OF MRS. WHITE-HEN)
A. L. BURT COMPANY,Publishers114-120 EAST 23rd STREETNEW YORK
THE BLUE DOMERSBy JEAN FINLEY
Vivid, refreshing stories of children and animals are always enjoyed by young readers. These informative tales, dealing with the activities of a number of children, are told with an ease and simplicity of style. The combined charm of magic and the great out-doors adds a delightful touch to these distinctive stories.
THE BLUE DOMERSTHE BLUE DOMERS’ ALPHABET ZOOTHE BLUE DOMERS IN THE DEEP WOODSTHE BLUE DOMERS AND THE WISHING TREETHE BLUE DOMERS UNDER WINTER SKIESTHE BLUE DOMERS AND THE MAGIC FLUTE
A. L. BURT COMPANY,Publishers114-120 EAST 23rd STREETNEW YORK