Scarce did the sun show his bright face in the east, ere each one of this brood woke up; the cock, with care, waits for Joe to go to the house where he kept his tools; the hen fits her young for a new flight.

"You will be able to go down with more ease, my dears, this day than you did last time, shall you not?"

"Oh, yes," said Dick; "I shall not at all fear."

"Nor I," said Flaps.

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Say you so? Then let us see which of you will be down first. Come, I will show you the way." On this, the hen, with slow course, bent her way to a spot near the place where Rob lay hid; they all went with her, and came on the cock, who had seen Joe, and thought he would at once throw wide the door; at length, to the joy of all, he came, and they

soon saw him fetch his shears and leave the house with the door wide; on this, the hen said that they should all go and call Rob. There they found him in his snug bed; but who can find words to tell the joy which fills each heart when they all meet once more!

When the first joy was past, "I think," said the cock, "it will be best to go from hence; if our friend comes back, he may take us for a set of thieves, and think that we came to eat his seeds, and I should not wish him to think so ill of us."

"Well, let us do so," said his mate. "Let us do so," cried the whole brood, and so they left the house; and now they hop through the low trees of bush fruit.

"I think," said the cock, "that you, who have the full use of your limbs, could get up those low trees, but Rob must stay on the

ground for some time. This was sad for him, but he had no one else to blame, so he tried to be of as good cheer as he could. The young birds wish to stay with him all day, as they could get on well and not go up to the nest; to this the old ones said, "Yes."

CHAP-TER XIII.

Ir is now time to ask how Fred and Har-ri-et Ben-son got on. This good boy and girl reach home soon from the time they had left the Red-breasts, and told all that they had done to their kind Ma; who, when she heard the young ones chirp, told them to go and feed

K

them, which they were glad to do, and then they spent a short time at their tasks.

Mrs. Ben-son told Har-ri-et that she had a wish to go and see a friend, and should take her with her; so she told her to keep quite still, that she might have rest from the walk she had just had; for though she meant to go in the coach, she should walk home, as the day was so fine. Har-ri-et took great care of the birds, and Fred said that with the help of the maid he would feed them while she was out.

Har-ri-et then put by her books with care, and went with her Ma. When they had made their call, they were on their way home on foot, when they met a poor thing who asked them to give her some help as her hus-band and child-ren had no food to eat, which they might see with their own eyes if they

would be so good as to step to a barn that was

near.

Mrs. Ben-son, who was glad, at all times, to help the good poor, took her child by the hand and went with the poor thing, who took her to a mean place where she saw a man, and round him his boys and girls whom he could not now feed; and who, though he was just well, was like to die for want of good food.

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'How came you all to be in this plight," said Mrs. Ben-son to the wife; "you might, I am sure, have got help before you came to such a sad pass?"

"Oh," said she, "we have not been used to beg, but to earn our food by our work, and not till this sad day have I known what it was to ask for help. This day, for the first time, I went to the side of the road to ask help from