Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-07-01

hedgerows and hayrickA I win teSl
you the story as it was told by .
famous writer, many hundreds of
wears ago. and then you may believe
it, or not, just as you like.
Once upon time, then. all the birds
met together to choose a King. and
they decided that the one who could
soar the highest should be ruler over
all the feathered tribes. Up they all
sprang into the air. hawk and heron,
swallow and skylark. and every bird that
flies; up, up, up. till their wings were
weary and their hearts faint. But far
above all the rest flew the mighty
eagle, his broad wings bearing him up
like sails. When the other birds
paused, exhausted, he alone scared on
ward and upward; till at length, rest
ing on his outspread wings, at dizzy
height he screamed in triumph: 20
birds, behold your King!'
behold him, indeed" cried tiny
voice at his ear. ''But not in you,
clumsy fellow!'' And the wren, who
had been perched all the while. unseen
and unnoticed, on the eagles shoulder.
now boldly took flight, and twitted
and chirped from still greater height;
while the weary eagle, unable to soar
higher, beat his broad wings in anger
and disappointment So the wren was
proclaimed King of all birds, and re-
mains SO to this day; and it is very
pretty story, whether you believe it or
not.
Now, let us look at this saucy little
King. and see what he is like. He is
about four inches long, of rich red
dish-brown color; and he has a saucy
little cocked-up tail, and knowing
black eyes, and very sweet voice,
which says very impudent things.
He is always gay and CHEEKY, and
sings as merrily ON cold day as on a
warm one; this is a good point in any
King. He builds his own palace, and
a very fine one it is for its size, being
made very neatly of leaves, moss and
grass, and having always a dome.
which covers it completely, the OPEN
ing of the nest being always at the
side. King Wren prefers this domed
nest to any other; first, because it is
more lofty, and, second, because
it protects the royal eggs from cold
and rain. But sometimes he chooses
the strangest place for his nest. A
wren's nest has been found in the body
of dead hawk, which had been killed
and nailed to the side of barn, to
brighten other hawks.
Once farmer had killed calf, and
hung its body on a tree. Qt seems a
singular thing to hang calf on tree,
as if he were a horse-thief; but that is
the way l heard the story.) Some
days after. when the farmer cut the
calf down in order to cut it up, he
found a wren's nest in its throat.
Again, have heard of little Queen
Wren, who made her nest inside a
pump, and went in and out through
the spout 70 attend to her natural du-
ties. What did she do when they
were pumping water?" Why, sup
pose she waited until they stopped,
don't you? At least that's what should
have done in her case. When winter
comes the little wrens are put to all sorts
of shifts to keep themselves warm.
Sometimes, in very cold weather, they
may be found all huddled together
in heaps, six or seven of them united,
looking like masses of soft brown
feathers. Sometimes they get into
their summer nests, the whole family,
parents and children, crowding into
the little hollow under the dome.
Once a fine lady, who was very fond
of birds, and used to scatter crumbs
for them in her garden every day in
cold weather, happened to see party
of wrens 60 to bed; and this is how
they did it. They gathered together
on large branch of tree. about four
inches above which grew another
branch. On the lower branch the
wrens packed themselves comfortably
together, three or four deep, the top
most bird always having his littl,
brown back pressed against the upper
branch, as if to keep the whole pile
steady. The lady pitied the poor
shiyer.ng little creatures, and the next
day she nailed to the branch square
box, lined with flannel, with a very
small round hole by way of door.
When the wrens came to go to bed
they examined the box, and soon
seemed to understand all about it, for
they crowded in eagerly. jostling each
other in their hurry to get into the fine
new bedroom. The next night there
were more of them, and more and
more, till at last more than forty
wrens would crowd into the box, which
did not seem big enough to hold more
than half that number. Just think!
Forty Kings and Queens, all IN one
palace! What proud lady she must
have been!-Laura e. Richards. in
Our Little Ones.