"In the house where Kenneth lived there was a chair which had always fascinated him. It was a very, very old chair, and Kenneth's mother and daddy were very proud of it," said daddy to Jack and Evelyn. "Kenneth's daddy had bought it at a sale of old and curious things. It was a Roman chair, and on either side were two heads of eagles. These four heads in all always made Kenneth wonder, for they looked so very life-like. He used to imagine that even little wooden eagles must get very tired of always being just the same.

"Really it often made Kenneth quite sad to watch them. One afternoon Kenneth went to a party. A little school chum of his had given it. It had been a very nice party. But, oh, he did feel so tired, for they had played blind man's buff, bull in the ring, squat tag, and other games.

"When Kenneth came home from the party it was not quite his bedtime, but secretly in his heart he was hoping it would come soon, for he had made up his mind that he wasn't going to bed until his bedtime.

"He got a book from the library shelf. It was full of pictures of sailors and pirates and ships, because if anything would keep him awake that would. He sat down with it on the Roman chair.

"Strangely enough, though, after a moment or two, he didn't seem to see pirates, and the sea began to look very much more like the surface of a chair. Soon the pirates disappeared entirely, and the four eagles of the Roman chair were looking at him steadily.

"'You're terribly tired, aren't you?' said the first eagle.

"'Yes; I'm a little tired,' Kenneth admitted.

"'Well, you're not as tired as we are,' said the second eagle.

"'No, indeed!' said the third eagle. 'You're only tired because you've played so many games. We're tired because we're always still.'

"Kenneth listened eagerly, because he'd so often thought just what he was hearing. 'Yes,' said Kenneth very sympathetically; 'I should think you would be very dull. I've often thought that. Have you been there a long time?'

"'Oh, ages and ages!' replied the fourth eagle, who up to this time hadn't spoken. 'We were very old before your daddy got us. We've been on this chair so long. We can't remember how long. And what makes us feel so sad is that we are called eagles and should fly and yet are forever glued to this chair.'

"'Kenneth, Kenneth,' cried Kenneth's mother, 'it's long past bedtime!'

"'Oh, I am not so tired as the eagles are!' said Kenneth. And Kenneth's mother wondered if he was talking in his sleep."