oo!' All the cocks along the shore answered his call;
all the turkeys gobbled, and the geese cackled. His vessel struck the
heavy timber of a broken bridge, and lurched and dipped, threatening
every moment to go to pieces. The waves splashed and drenched them, and
the swift current carried them faster and faster down to the sea. It was
all Dick and his little company could do to keep their footing, and
still the plucky little fellow stood and crowed.

"A neighbor who was out in his boat gathering drift-wood, recognizing
Dick's peculiar voice, went to the rescue, and, taking this strange
craft in tow, brought the little company, with their gallant leader,
drenched and draggled but still crowing lustily, safe to land.

"And that is all I can tell you about Dick, for it is five o'clock, and
time to put up our work."

"I like every kind of bird," said Florence Austin at the next meeting of
the Society, "except the English sparrows. They are a perfect nuisance!"

"Why, what harm do they do?" Nellie asked.

"Harm!" said Florence; "you don't know any thing about it here in the
country. We had to cut down a beautiful wisteria-vine that climbed over
one side of our house because the sparrows would build their nests in
it, and made such a dreadful noise in the morning that nobody on that
side of the house could sleep. And they drive away all the other birds.
We used to have robins hopping over our lawn, and dear little
yellow-birds used to build their nests in the pear-trees; but since the
sparrows have got so thick, they have stopped coming. My father says the
English sparrow is the most impudent bird that ever was hatched. He
actually saw one snatch away a worm a robin had just dug up. I believe I
hate sparrows!"

"I don't," said Nellie. "I have fed them all winter. They came to the
dining-room window every morning, and waited for their breakfast; and a
funny little woodpecker, blind of one eye, came with them sometimes."

"They do lots of good in our gardens," said Mollie, "digging up grubs
and beetles. Papa told us so."

"There's nobody in this world so bad," said Susie, sagely, "but that you
can find something good to say about them." At which kindly speech Aunt
Ruth smiled approval.

"I think," she said, "this will be a good time to tell you a story
about an English sparrow and a canary-bird I will call it

TUFTY AND THE SPARROW.

"One morning in April a young canary-bird whose name was Tufty escaped
through