The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-03-30
4 coon SHOT.

Once there was boy who was good marks
man with a stone or a slng-shot, or a bow
and arrow. or cross-bow, or an air-suu, or
anything he took aim with. SO lie went about
all day, aiming at every thing he came near.
/ Evcu at his meals he would think about good
shots at the clock, Or the cat, or the flies onthe
wal, or anything lie Glanced ID see.
Near where lie lived their lived little
bird that had nest aud five young birds SO:
! many large mouths in small heads, always
open wide FOR food, kept her hand at work.
From dawn to dak she flew heare aud there
over fields and woods aud roads, getting
worms, and fl es, aud bugs and Seeds and
such things as she knew were good for her
young binds It was great wonder whit
lots Cf food those five small things could eat.
What she brought each day would have filled
that nes. full up to the top, yet they ate it all
and asked for more before daylight next morn
| ing. Though it was such hard work, she was
| glad TO do it, and went on day after day,
| always flying off with a gay chirp, and back
| with a tit of some kind Of food and thought
stuck her bill after she had fed them, yet
she never t Them want, not even the small
| lest and weakest of them. The little fellow
| could not ask as loudly as the others, vet she
| always fed him first. One day, when she had
| picked up worm, ard peIched min ate on
The wall before flying to her nest, the good
| marksman saw her, aud of course aimed at
her, aud lit her in the side. She was much
hurt and in great pain, yet she tluot"red and
lmped, and dragged herself to the loot of the
Tree where her nest was but she could not fl
up to her nest, for her wing v as broken. She
chirped it'll and the young ones heard her.
and as they were hungry they chirpad buck
loudly, and she knew all their voices, even
could not come up to them nor tell them WY
she did not come. And when she heard the
call Of the small one she tried again to rise,
but only one of her wings woull move, and
that just turned her over on the side of the
broken wing. All the rest of the day the
little her lay there, and when she chirped
her children ansW cred, and when they clipped,
she answered, only when the good marks man
CHANGED to pass by then she kept quite STILL
But her voice grew ftiLtar and weaker, and
late in the day the young ones coul not hear
it any more, but she could still hear them.
Some time in the night the mother bird died,
and in the moring she lay quite cold ard st fl
with her dim eyes still turned up to the nest
where her Young ones were dying of hunger.
But they did not die So soon. Ali dav long
they s. apt, until their hunger walked them up,
and then called until icy we've so tired they
fell asleep again. And The DeXt night was
very coi and they missed their mcther's warm
breast, and before day lawGed the all died
one after the other, excepting the smallest,
which as lowest down in the nest, aud iu
the morning he pushed up his head aed opened
his yellow bill to be fed; bnt there was no one
to feed him. and SO he died. too, at last, with
his mouth wide open and empty And 50
the good mlrksman had killed SIX birds with
one shOt-the mother and her five Young on
DO you think he must be a proud boy >
Should you not like to do the same If YOU
know him, please read this little tale to him.
He may like to hear it-Joseph KjrSiaHd, IN
ST. Nicholas.