LESSON 10 THE WOUNDED BIRD

THE WOUNDED BIRD

save caught pris-on dis-tance

spread-ing empty watched teach

1. One day my brother Frank saved the life of a poor little bird which puss had caught in the garden.

2. Puss ran off as soon as she saw Frank coming. She dropped the bird from her mouth.

3. My brother picked it up as it lay panting on the ground. Poor thing! it was a sad sight to see.

4. He brought it into the house, and we put it in a cage; but it did not seem happy in its prison home.

5. We kept it in-doors for some weeks, and then one day we took it out to the garden to set it free.

6. We opened the door of the cage, and stood at a little distance from it, to see what the bird would do.

7. Oh, it was a pretty sight to see how happy it was! It sat for a moment at the door, and then flew to a branch of a tree in the garden.

8. It turned its little head to us, as if to say, Good-bye; and then, spreading its wings, it mounted into the air and flew away to the woods.

9. About a week after this, Frank and I were sitting at a window which looked into the garden.

10. Suddenly we heard a bird singing. among the trees. On looking out we saw that our little friend had come back to us.

11. Frank took the empty cage to the garden. He put seed and water into it, and said, "Let us see if the bird will know its old home again."

12. We sat and watched, and soon saw our little friend fly down to the cage. It went in and helped itself to the food which Frank had put there.

13. We did not wish to make it a prisoner again, but to teach it to come back to us without fear at any time.

14. The cage was left in the garden with plenty of food in it, and a little glass of water. Day after day we saw our little friend go in by the open door to its meals.

15. One day it brought another bird with it, and they both played about the cage for hours, hopping in and out, and eating the food we had put there.

16. They were free to come and go as they pleased. Many a sweet song they sang to us as we sat at the garden window in the long days of that happy summer.