[CHAPTER IV] _An Afternoon Reception_
Twinkle and Chubbins stretched their little necks to see what wascoming, and a moment later beheld one of the most gorgeous sights theforest affords--a procession of all the bright-hued birds that liveamong the trees or seek them for shelter.
They flew in pairs, one after the other, and at the head of theprocession was their good friend Policeman Bluejay, wearing apoliceman's helmet upon his head and having a policeman's club tuckedunderneath his left wing. The helmet was black and glossy and had a bignumber "1" on the front of it, and a strap that passed under thewearer's bill and held it firmly in place. The club was fastened aroundthe policeman's wing with a cord, so that it could not get away when hewas flying.
The birds were of many sizes and of various colorings. Some were muchlarger than the bluejay, but none seemed so proud or masterful, and alldeferred meekly to the commands of the acknowledged guardian of theforest.
One by one the pretty creatures alighted upon the limbs of the tree,and the first thing they all did was to arrange their feathers properlyafter their rapid flight. Then the bluejay, who sat next to thechild-larks, proceeded to introduce the guests he had brought to callupon the newest inhabitants of his domain.
"This is Mr. and Mrs. Robin Redbreast, one of our most aristocraticfamilies," said he, swinging his club around in a circle until Chubbinsducked his head for fear it might hit him.
"You are welcome to our forest," chirped Robin, in a sedate anddignified tone.
"And here is Mr. Goldfinch and his charming bride," continued thepoliceman.
"Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you," the goldfinch murmured, eyeing thechild-larks curiously, but trying to be so polite that they would notnotice his staring.
"Henny Wren and Jenny Wren," proceeded the policeman.
Twinkle and Chubbins both bowed politely.
"Well, well!" croaked a raven, in a hoarse voice, "am I to wait all daywhile you introduce those miserable little insignificant grub-eaters?"
"Be quiet!" cried Policeman Bluejay, sternly.
"I won't," snapped the raven.
It happened so quickly that the children saw nothing before they heardthe thump of the club against the raven's head.
"Caw--waw--waw--waw! Murder! Help!" screamed the big bird, and flewaway from the tree as swiftly as his ragged wings would carry him.
"Let him go," said a sweet brown mocking-bird. "The rowdy is alwaysdisturbing our social gatherings, and no one will miss him if hedoesn't come back."
"He is not fit for polite society," added a nuthatcher, pruning herscarlet wings complacently.
So the policeman tucked the club under his wing again and proceededwith the introductions, the pewees and the linnets being next presentedto the strangers, and then the comical little chicadees, the orioles,bobolinks, thrushes, starlings and whippoorwills, the latter appearingsleepy because, they explained, they had been out late the nightbefore.
These smaller birds all sat in rows on the limbs beside Twinkle andChubbins; but seated upon the stouter limbs facing them were rows ofbigger birds who made the child-larks nervous by the sharp glances fromtheir round, bright eyes. Here were blackbirds, cuckoos, magpies,grosbeaks and wood-pigeons, all nearly as big and fierce-looking asPoliceman Bluejay himself, and some so rugged and strong that it seemedstrange they would submit to the orders of the officer of the law. Butthe policeman kept a sharp watch upon these birds, to see that theyattempted no mischievous pranks, and they must have been afraid of himbecause they behaved very well after the saucy raven had left them.Even the chattering magpies tried to restrain their busy tongues, andthe blackbirds indulged in no worse pranks than to suddenly spreadtheir wings and try to push the pigeons off the branch.
Several beautiful humming-birds were poised in the air above thisgathering, their bodies being motionless but their tiny wingsfluttering so swiftly that neither Twinkle nor Chubbins could see themat all.
Policeman Bluejay, having finally introduced all the company to thechild-larks, began to relate the story of their adventures, telling thebirds how the wicked tuxix had transformed them into the remarkableshapes they now possessed.
"For the honor of our race," he said, "we must each and every one guardthese little strangers carefully, and see that they come to no harm inour forest. You must all pledge yourselves to befriend them on alloccasions, and if any one dares to break his promise he must fight withme to the death--and you know very well what that means."
"We do," said a magpie, with a shrill laugh. "You'll treat us as youdid Jim Crow. Eh?"
The policeman did not notice this remark, but the other birds alllooked grave and thoughtful, and began in turn to promise that theywould take care to befriend the child-larks at all times. This ceremonyhaving been completed, the birds began to converse in a more friendlyand easy tone, so that Twinkle and Chubbins soon ceased to be afraid ofthem, and enjoyed very much their society and friendly chatter.