ade
preparations for trying the thief.

CHAPTER THREE.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRIAL.

And a fine job those preparations were. It was all in vain that a
meeting was held, and the perch taken; everybody wanted to talk at once,
and, what was worse still, everybody did talk at once, and made such a
clatter, that Tom, the gardener's boy, threw his birch-broom up in the
cedar-tree, and then had his ears boxed because it did not come down
again, but lay across two boughs ever so high up and out of reach, to
the great annoyance of Mrs Turtledove, a nervous lady of very mournful
habit.

The birch-broom scattered the birds for a while, but they soon came
back, for they were not going to be frightened away by a bundle of
twigs, when they did not even care for a scarecrow, but used to go and
sit upon its head; while the tomtit declared it was a capital spider
trap, and used to pick out no end of savoury little spinners for his
dinner.

When the birds had all settled again, they went to business in a quieter
way, for they did not wish to be again driven off in such a sweeping
manner; so at last they decided that the owl should be judge, because he
looked big and imposing.

"Oh!" said Specklems the starling, "but he's so sleepy and
chuckleheaded."

"All the better, my dear sir," said the magpie, who had come back on
hearing the news of the capture; "all the better, my dear sir, for you
know you will be for the prosecution, and then, with a highly
respectable jury, we shall get on capitally; in fact, hardly want any
judge at all, only to keep up appearances."

"Whew, whoo, whistlerustle," away they went, and settled in a cloud on
the top of the old ivied house, and round about the owl's nest--birds of
all colours, sorts, and sizes; long tails and short tails; long bills
and short bills; worm-workers, grub-grinders, bud-biters,
snail-crushers, seed-snappers, berry-bringers, fruit-finders, all kinds
of birds--to fetch Judge Owl to sit at the court, to try the foreign
thief, who had made such a commotion, trouble, bother, worry, and
disturbance; and kicked up such a dust, such a shindy, such a hobble, as
had never before been known in Featherland.

"Hallo! here, Shoutnight; hallo! wake up; anybody at home?" said the
magpie, holding his head very much on one side, and peeping with one eye
at a time into the snug place where the fuzzy old gentleman used to
bring his mice home. "Hallo! here," he continued, throwing in a sm