65.-The Brown Thrush. 1. THERE'S a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree He's singing to me! he's singing to me!" And what does he say, little girl, little boy? Hush! Look! In my tree, 2. And the brown thrush keeps singing-"A nest And five eggs, hid by me in the juniper-tree? Don't meddle! don't touch! little girl, little boy, Or the world will lose some of its joy. If you never bring sorrow to me." 3. So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, To you and to me, to you and to me; And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, Oh, the world's running over with joy; But long it won't be, Don't know? don't you see? you Unless we are as good as can be? LUCY LARCOM. 66.-The Diverting History of Little 1. My little folks have perhaps wondered at not hearing from me for a month or two past, but the fact is, I have been diligently looking around for something to write, and have at last found it in the ways and doings of one of the queer little people, whom I shall call Whiskey. 2. You cannot imagine how pretty he is. His back has the most beautiful smooth shining stripes of reddish brown and black, his eyes shine like bright glass-beads, and he sits up jauntingly on his hind quarters, with his little tail thrown over his back like a ruffle! 3. And where does he live? Well, "that is telling," as we children say. It was somewhere up in the mountains of Berkshire, in a queer, quaint, oldfashioned garden, that I made Mr. Whiskey's acquaintance. 4. Here there lives a young parson, who preaches every Sunday in a little brown church, and during week-days goes through all these hills and valleys, visiting the poor and gathering children into Sun day-schools. 5. His wife is a very small-sized lady,-not much bigger than you, my little Mary,—but very fond of all sorts of dumb animals; and, by constantly watching their actions and ways, she has come to have quite a strange power over them, as I shall relate. 6. The little lady fixed her mind on Whiskey, and gave him his name without consulting him upon the subject. She admired his bright eyes, and resolved to cultivate his acquaintance. 7. By constant watching, she discovered that he had a small hole of his own in the grass-plot a few paces from her back door. So she used to fill her pocket with hazel-nuts, and go out and sit in the back porch, and make a little noise, such as squirrels make to each other, to attract his attention. 8. In a minute or two up would pop the little head with the bright eyes in the grass-plot, and Master Whiskey would sit on his haunches and listen, with one small ear turned toward her. Then she would throw him a hazel-nut, and he would slip instantly down into his hole again. 9. In a minute or two, however, his curiosity would get the better of his prudence; and she, sitting quiet, would see the little brown-striped head slowly, slowly coming up again, over the tiny green spikes of the grass-plot. Quick as a flash he would dart at the nut, whisk it into a little bag on one side of his jaws, which Madame Nature has furnished him with for his provision-pouch, and down into his hole again. 10. An ungrateful, suspicious little brute he was too; for though in his way he bagged and carried off nut after nut, until the patient little woman had used up a pound of hazel-nuts, still he seemed to have the same wild fright at sight of her, and would whisk off and hide himself in his hole the moment she appeared. 11. In vain she called, "Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey," in the most flattering tones; in vain she coaxed and cajoled. No, no; he was not to be caught napping. He had no objection to accepting her nuts, as many as she chose to throw to him; but as to her taking any personal liberty with him, you see it was not to be thought of. 12. But at last patience and perseverance began to have their reward. Little Master Whiskey said to himself, "Surely this is a nice, kind lady, to take so much pains to give me nuts; she is certainly very considerate;" and with that he edged a little nearer and nearer every day, until, quite to the delight of the small lady, he would come and climb into her lap and seize the nuts, when she rattled them there, and after that he seemed to make exploring voyages all over her person. He would climb up and sit on her shoulder; he would mount and perch himself on her head; and, when she held a nut for him between her teeth, would take it out of her mouth. 13. After a while he began to make tours of discovery in the house. He would suddenly appear on the minister's writing-table when he was composing his Sunday sermon, and sit with his little pert head to one side seeming to wonder what he was about. But in all his explorations he proved himself a true Yankee squirrel, having always a shrewd eye on the main chance. 14. If the parson dropped a nut on the floor, down went Whiskey after it, and into his provision-bag it went, and then he would look up as if he expected another; for he had a wallet on each side of his jaws, and he always wanted both sides handsomely filled before he made for his |