When the tender parents had finished their willing task of feeding Molly, they hopped forward close to the very door of the cottage, and seeing the old gentleman sitting in the room, Mr. Robin made bold to walk in and make known his errand.

"I wonder what he is talking about, so very loud and earnest," exclaimed Fred, coming in softly behind him.

"I don't know; but he is very zealous about it. See how he turns first one eye, then the other, while he twitters away as if his life depended upon making us understand."

Suddenly robin uttered a sharp cry, and flew away toward the nest; and before they could express their surprise, he was back again, twittering as fast as ever. Fred laughed aloud. "How very funny!" he cried. "What does it mean? He never did so before."

"I have no doubt he is trying to tell us something; and I fear it is not pleasant news, from his mournful cry."

"I wish we could understand," said the boy.

"I once read of a man," said grandpa, "who, from his boyhood, had studied the language of birds, and by close attention had acquired such a knowledge of it, that from the song of the parents, he knew where the nests were situated, whether they contained eggs, or whether the brood was hatched. He knew even the number of young birds and their age, before he saw them. This is truly wonderful, and if I had not read it from the best authority, I could hardly credit it. If so, I suppose, by careful observation, we could in many cases understand their different notes, and thus learn their wants and emotions, as well as the birds themselves do.

"I was once walking in a wood, and caught sight of a party of jays before they saw me. They were all chattering together and enjoying themselves highly. Suddenly one of them uttered a short, deep-toned note, when in an instant all was silent,—and they skulked one by one to a neighboring thicket."

"I suppose one of them caught a glimpse of you, and warned the others that you were near enough to listen to their secrets," said Fred, with a hearty laugh.

Grandpa now took his cane and walked to the door, determined, as the appeal was made to him, to watch the motions of the robins, and try to help them if they were in trouble. But though Mr. Robin kept repeating his flight to the nest, and his effort to talk, nothing could be made of it; and at length the poor father seemed to despair.

In the mean time, Jack, Katy and Annie were chatting merrily together; and before this first interview closed, Katy had even ventured to take a crumb from Annie's mouth. This the child thought the very summit of happiness, and called loudly to her mother to come and share her delight.

Jack was evidently very proud of his sister; and while this was going on, hopped from one to the other, his small head cocked in a very arch manner.

After a time the little ones hopped away, as they wished to fly back to the nest. Katy was quite impatient to impart her success to her sister; but when she glanced up into the tree, she was almost in despair.

"Fly up a few times into this bough," said Jack. "It is beautiful exercise."

Katy did so, and presently, with a beating heart, from the bush mounted to the nest.

"O Molly!" she cried, "if you had been with us, I should have been the happiest bird that ever lived."

"How like her mother she grows!" said Mr. Robin to himself as he gazed lovingly upon his youngest child.

"Every time I picked up a crumb I thought of you," said Jack—"of you alone here in the nest."

"I have scarcely been alone a moment," said Molly. "Either father or mother has been with me, and they have treated me to a delicious feast. I shall soon become quite reconciled to my situation. But where is Dick?"

"He is eating, as usual," said Mr. Robin, in a stern voice.

Jack and Katy now repeated the adventures of the morning, to which their sister listened with great interest.

"I can't help thinking about Mr. Robin," said grandpa, taking his cane and walking out of doors as soon as breakfast was over. "Birds have a wonderful instinct; and I have no doubt he was asking my aid about something. They will often fly to man for protection when pursued by an enemy."

"I wish you would tell us a story about a bird," said Annie, earnestly.

The old gentleman seated himself in his chair, and after resting his chin on the top of his cane for a moment, he began: "A beautiful pair of goldfinches once built their nest on a small branch of an olive tree. The female laid the eggs and hatched the young brood, when the parents perceived that the weight of the growing family would soon be too great for the strength of the branch which supported the nest. This fact was evident to the family who lived near, and had watched with interest the proceedings of the birds.

"One morning the goldfinches found their nest was giving way, and that something must be done at once, or it would fall. They consulted together, then picked up a string, and with their beaks drew it around the slender twig, and then fastened it to a stronger and higher branch of the tree. Thus they saved their falling house."

Transcriber's Note:

Punctuation has been standardised; spelling has been retained as in the original publication.