THE WATER BABIES
meek and as neat as a Quakeress, and they all bawled at her at once—
And it was in vain that she pleaded—
That she did not like grouse-eggs;
That she could get her living very well without them;
That she was afraid to eat them, for fear of the gamekeepers;
That she had not the heart to eat them, because the grouse were such pretty, kind, jolly birds;
And a dozen reasons more.
For all the other scaul-crows set upon her, and pecked
 THE GOOD CROW |
her to death there and then, before Tom could come to help her; and then flew away, very proud of what they had done.
Now, was not this a scandalous transaction?
But they are true republicans, these hoodies who do every one just what he likes, and make other people do so, too; so that, for any freedom of speech, thought, or action, which is allowed among them, they might as well be American citizens of the new school.
But the fairies took the good crow and gave her nine new sets of feathers running, and turned her at last into the most beautiful bird of paradise with a green velvet suit and a long tail, and sent her to eat fruit in the Spice Islands, where cloves and nutmegs grow.
And Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid settled her account with the wicked hoodies. For, as they flew away, what should they find but a nasty dead dog!—on which they
