breast. The
Robin first, who had shared his peril, brought a feather sadly scorched,
but precious; the Lark next, who had helped in the time of need. The
Eagle bestowed a kingly feather, the Thrush, the Nightingale,--every
bird contributed except the Owl.

But the selfish Owl said, "I see no reason why I should give a feather.
Hoot! No! The Wren brought me into trouble once, and I will not help him
now. Let him go bare, for all my aid."

"Shame! Shame!" cried the birds indignantly. "Old Master Owl, you ought
to be ashamed. But if you are so selfish we will not have you in our
society. Go back to your hollow tree!"

"Yes, go back to your hollow tree," cried the Eagle sternly; "and when
winter comes may you shiver with cold as you would have left the brave
little Wren to shiver this day. You shall ruffle your feathers as much
as you like, but you will always feel cold at heart, because your heart
is selfish."

And indeed, since that day for all his feathers the Owl has never been
able to keep warm enough in his lonely hollow tree.

But the Wren became one of the happiest of all the birds, and a favorite
both with his feathered brothers and with men, because of his brave
deed, and because of the great fire-gift which he had brought from the
sun.

HOW THE BLUEBIRD CROSSED

Of course every one knows that the Bluebird was made from a piece of the
azure sky itself. One has only to match his wonderful color against the
April heaven to be sure of that. Therefore the little Bluebird was
especially dear to the Spirit of the sky, the Father in Heaven.

One day this venturesome little bird started out upon a long journey
across the wide Pacific Ocean toward this New World which neither
Columbus nor any other man had yet discovered. Under him tossed the
wide, wide sea, rolling for miles in every direction, with no land
visible anywhere on which a little bird might rest his foot. For this
was also before there were any islands in all that stretch of waters.
Soon the poor little Bluebird became very weary and wished he had not
ventured upon so long a flight. His wings began to droop and he sank
lower and lower toward the sea which seemed eager to overwhelm his
blueness with its own. He had come so far over the salty wastes that he
was very thirsty; but with water, water everywhere there was not a drop
to drink. The poor little bird glanced despairingly up toward the blue
sky from which he had been made and cried,--