CONTENTS
SAVING THE BIRDS
ANOTHER BIRD STORY
SPEAKING A PIECE
WRITING A COMPOSITION
THE WHISTLE
THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD
THE CALIPH AND THE POET
"BECOS! BECOS! BECOS!"
A LESSON IN HUMILITY
THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
THE BOY AND THE WOLF
ANOTHER WOLF STORY
THE HORSESHOE NAILS
THE LANDLORD'S MISTAKE
A LESSON IN MANNERS
GOING TO SEA
THE SHEPHERD-BOY PAINTER
TWO GREAT PAINTERS
THE KING AND THE BEES
OUR FIRST GREAT PAINTER
THE YOUNG SCOUT
THE LAD WHO RODE SIDESADDLE
THE WHISPERERS
HOW A PRINCE LEARNED TO READ
"READ AND YOU WILL KNOW"
THE YOUNG CUPBEARER
THE SONS OF THE CALIPH
THE BOY AND THE ROBBERS
A LESSON IN JUSTICE
THE GENERAL AND THE FOX
THE BOMB
A STORY OF OLD ROME
SAVED BY A DOLPHIN
"LITTLE BROTHERS OF THE AIR"
A CLEVER SLAVE
THE DARK DAY
THE SURLY GUEST
THE STORY OF A GREAT STORY
THE KING AND THE PAGE
THE HUNTED KING
"TRY, TRY AGAIN!"
WHY HE CARRIED THE TURKEY
THE PADDLE-WHEEL BOAT
THE CALIPH AND THE GARDENER
THE COWHERD WHO BECAME A POET
THE LOVER OF MEN
THE CHARCOAL MAN AND THE KING
WHICH WAS THE KING?
THE GOLDEN TRIPOD
SAVING THE BIRDS
One day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country
road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to
attend court.
There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping
from the trees, and the grass was wet.
The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was
narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and
talked and laughed and were very jolly.
As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great
fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the
roadside.
"Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.
"Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.
"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was
Speed. "Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose
name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of
the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a
great fuss about it."
"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third
lawyer, whose name I forget.
"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should
we bother?"
