The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-06-12
KING OF BIRDS.
How the Proud Title Was Earnsd-Stories
Of the Wren.

Now, you think I am going to tel
you about the eagle. Confess that yo1
do! "Of course!' you say. Ever,
body knows that the eagle is the Kim
of birds. Do you think we are dunces7'
No, l don't think you are ounces
but perhaps there may still be a few
things that you do not know. though
of course, it is only becaus
you have not had time tt
learn them. And n Of thes
few things is that, according to ancien
story, the King of all birds is not thu
mighty eagle, but-the Wren!-th,
tiny, chattering, brown wren, wh'
builds his pretty, little, round nest il
hedgerows and hayricks. l will tel
you the story as it was told by
famous writer, many hundreds O
years ago, and then you may believe
it, or not, just as you like.
Once upon a time, then, all the bird
met together to choose a King, ant
they decided that the one who coult
oar the highest should be ruler ovel
all the feathered tribes. Up they al
sprang into the air, hawk and heron,
swallow and skylark, and every bird thai
flies; up, up, up, till their wings were
weary and their hearts faint. But fal
above all the rest flew the mighty
eagle, his broad wings bearing him W
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 a dizzy
height he screamed in"triumph: 20
birds, behold your King!'
"Behold him, indeed!" cried a 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 a 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 d 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 a rich red
dish-brown color; and he has a saucy
little cocked-up tail, and knowing
black eyes, and a very sweet voice,
which says very impudent things.
He is always gay and CHEEKY, and
sings as merrily on a cold day al on a
warm one; this is 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 overs 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
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 a dead hawk, which had been killed
and nailed to the side Of a barn, to
Brighten other hawks. b
Once a farmer had killed q cali, and
hung its body on a tree. Ut seems a
singular thing to hang a calf on a 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, I have heard of a little Queen
Wren, who made her nest inside a
pump, and went in and out through
the spout to attend to her natural du-
ties. what did she do when they
were pumping waterp" Why, / sup
pose she waited until they stopped,
don't your At least that's what / should
have done in her case. When winter
comes the little wrens are quito 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 q 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 o party
Of wrens 60 to bed; and this Is how
they did it They gathered together
on . large branch Of q tree. about four
above which grew another
branch. On the lower branch the
wrens packed themselves comfortably
together, three OF four deep, the top.
most bird always having bis little
brown back pressed against the upper
branch, q Il to keep the whole pile
The lady pitied ths poor.