n on him too awful strong. Maybe he lost his mother when he was
jest a little tyke, an' he hasn't had much teachin'."

Abram was completely worn out, and went early to bed. Far in the night
Maria felt him fumbling around her face in an effort to learn if she
were covered; and as he drew the sheet over her shoulder he muttered in
worn and sleepy tones: "I'm afraid they's no use denyin' it, Maria, I
WAS JEST MORTAL FIERCE."

In the sumac the frightened little mother cardinal was pressing her
precious babies close against her breast; and all through the night she
kept calling to her mate, "Chook! Chook!" and was satisfied only when
an answering "Chip!" came. As for the Cardinal, he had learned a new
lesson. He had not been under fire before. Never again would he trust
any one carrying a shining thing that belched fire and smoke. He had
seen the hunter coming, and had raced home to defend his mate and
babies, thus making a brilliant mark of himself; and as he would not
have deserted them, only the arrival of the farmer had averted a
tragedy in the sumac. He did not learn to use caution for himself; but
after that, if a gun came down the shining river, he sent a warning
"Chip!" to his mate, telling her to crouch low in her nest and keep
very quiet, and then, in broken waves of flight, and with chirp and
flutter, he exposed himself until he had lured danger from his beloved
ones.

When the babies grew large enough for their mother to leave them a
short time, she assisted in food hunting, and the Cardinal was not so
busy. He then could find time frequently to mount to the top of the
dogwood, and cry to the world, "See here! See here!" for the cardinal
babies were splendid. But his music was broken intermittent vocalizing
now, often uttered past a beakful of food, and interspersed with
spasmodic "chips" if danger threatened his mate and nestlings.

Despite all their care, it was not so very long until trouble came to
the sumac; and it was all because the first-born was plainly greedy;
much more so than either his little brother or his sister, and he was
one day ahead of them in strength. He always pushed himself forward,
cried the loudest and longest, and so took the greater part of the food
carried to the nest; and one day, while he was still quite awkward and
uncertain, he climbed to the edge and reached so far that he fell. He
rolled down the river bank, splash! into the water; and a hungry old
pickerel, sunni