The Story Hour

There it hangs, on a corner of the picture frame, very much as it hung in the oldwillow-tree out in the garden. It was spring time, and I used to move my rocking-chair up to the window, where Icould lean out and touch the green branches, and watch there for the wonderfulbeautiful things to tell my little children in the kindergarten. There I saw the busy littleants hard at work on the ground below; the patient, dull, brown toads snapping flies inthe sunshine; the striped caterpillars lazily crawling up the trunk of the tree; and dozensof merry birds getting ready for housekeeping. Did you know the birdies "kept house"? Oh, yes; they never "board" like men andwomen; indeed, I don't think they even like to RENT a house without fixing it over to suitthemselves, but they 'd much rather go to work and build one,"So snug and so warm, so cosy and neat, To start at their housekeeping all complete