ul bird stood pretending that he had not seen
the falcon driven off, and that he had come back on purpose to scare it
away. But it would not do this time, for although there were some of
the little birds who believed in the magpie, and thought him a very fine
fellow, yet the greater part of those present burst out laughing at him,
and at last made him so cross that he called them a pack of idiots, and
flew off in a pet, feeling very uncomfortable and transparent, and cross
with himself as well, for having been such a stupid, deceitful thing.
While the wiser birds made up their minds never to be deceived by the
sly bird again; for before this he had had it all his own way, because
he was so big, and everybody thought that he was brave as well; but now
that he had been put to the test, he had proved himself to be an arrant
coward, and only brave enough to fight against things smaller than
himself.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE LITTLE WARBLER.

"Sky-high, sky-high, twitter-twitter, sky-high-higher-higher," sang the
lark, and he fluttered and circled round and round, making the air about
him echo again and again with the merry song he was singing--a song so
sweet, so bright and sparkling, that the birds of Greenlawn stopped to
listen to the little brown fellow with the long spurs and top-knot,
whistling away "sweet and clear, sweet and clear," till he rose so high
that the sounds came faintly, and nothing could be seen of him but a
little black speck high up against the edge of the white flecky cloud;
and still the sweet song came trilling down so soft and clear, that the
birds clapped their wings and cried "Bravo!" while the jackdaw said he
would take lessons from the lark in that style of singing, for he
thought it would suit his voice, and then he was quite offended when the
thrush laughed, but begged pardon for being so rude. And then, while
the birds were watching the lark, he began to descend; slowly, and by
jerks, every time sending forth spurts from the fountain of song that
gushed from his little warbling throat; and then down, lower and lower
still, singing till he was near the ground, when, with one long, clear,
prolonged note, he darted down, falling like a stone till close to the
grass, when he skimmed along for some distance, and then alighted in a
little tussock of grass that stood by itself in the field, which came
close up to Greenlawn, and ran right down to the farther edge of the
pond. And what was ther