Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-07-15
.How Robins Kite
Learned to Fly

Grandmother lifted her spectacles
! from her nose and smiled with her
! twinkly blue eyes.
Il know where there is big sheet OF
strong wrapping paper she said.
, Grandfather laid down his book.
Il can find some spints in the WOOD
! ba sket for yOu," he said.
SO Robin brought out his own pair of
shiny scissors that hung on nail in
the Kitchen. He found his own little jar
| of paste. Then he spread out all his
| things on the kitchen table and went to
work. Snip snap, went the scissors.
Scritch, scratch, went grandfather's
jack knife, whiting splnts from the
kindlings in the wood basket Splash
went the paste brush, and there was lit
tie boy Robins kite all done, with a
long newspaper tail and long string
to fly it by.
BY that time the rain was all over
and the sun was peeping out.
II am going out to fly my kite said
little boy Robin.
Mother helped him put on his red cap
and his red mitters. Grandfather waved
his hand from the kitchen window, and
little boy Robin ran up and down the
garden path with his new kite. But. oh,
the kite would not fly at all! 1t just
tramped along the ground after Robin,
dragging it's tail in the wet grass and
looking very unhappy.
1T hasn't learned how to fly yet"
said little boy Robin, land l can't show
It how" Then he sat down on stone
and squeezed out two big tears.
An old gray mole came along just
then and stopped in front of Robin.
whats up, little boy" he said.
oh" sobbed Robin, II have a little
new kite and it doesn't know how to
fly"
IF should be out when the wind goes
I'll tell him. He teaches the kites to
fly"
said the old gray mole. Then he hurried
off to dig long tunnels under the gar
den beds and presently forgot all about
his promise. Robin waited, but the wind
did not come by.
Pretty soon along came creerful
brown sparrow.
What is the trouble, little boy ?"
chirped the sparrow.
my kite doesn't know how to fly"
said little Boy Robin.
The cheerful sparrow began to hop
UP and down in the garden path in
front of the kite He spread his wings
and tapped them, and said:
This way and that way, just stand up
and try.
That's the way father taught me how
to fly"
The kite lay very still and presently
the cheerful sparrow flew off to gather
straw and hens feathers for a new
nest.
Little boy Robin cried two more
tears. until a withered last years leaf
heard him and rustled,--
Look at the tops Of the garden trees,
Something is coming-a new little
breeze!"
Robin looked up very high. Surely.
the tops Of the trees were moving. He
kept very still for he did not wish to
brighten the new little breeze. At last
down came the breeze to the ground
and began tugging at the kites TAIL but
still the kite would not fly. Off went
the breeze and came back with two 9TH
er little breezes. who pushed and pulled,
too: but the kite would not fly.
"I'll make that kite fly. if it takes me
all day.
Let's go to the woods where the west
winds at play"
said the first little breeze.
So the three little breezes hurried OF
to find the old west wind and they told
him all about the kite in little boy
Robins garden that would not fly.
"Oh. no. said the old west wind,
well see about that DIRECTLY
Down the road went the old west
wind, with the three little breezes in
front to show him the way. Over the
gate he rushed and pulled off little boy
Robins red cap and tossed it into the
currant bushes. Then in half minute
he made the kite stand and spread it's
tail, and off it flew as far as the string
would let it go. Why. it even wanted to
go farther. You can't think how 1t tug
ged and tugged.
SO Robin ran up and down the garden
path with the kite flying high behind
him. The old gray mole came out Of his
tunnel to see. The brown sparrow stop
ped with a bill full Of nest stuff to
watch. The withered last years leaf fol-
lowed merrily along the path. And
little boy Robin waved his red mitten
to grandfather in the kitchen window
to tell him that the little new kite had
learned how to f1v