Show bedtime story f for or children by THORNTON W BURGESS A LESSON IN politeness agather A FLOCK of modestly dressed yet rather distinguished look ng feath ered folks alighted in a cherry tree and began helping themselves to farmer brown browns s cherries cl ernes erries aley 1 ey were about the size of winsome bluebird but did not look in the least like him for they were dressed almost wholly in a beau ticul rich soft gray sh brown across the end of each tall tail was a bright yel low band on each the forehead ch eh n and a line through each eye was vel nel vety nety black each wore a very nery stylish pointed cap and on the wings of most of them were I 1 atle spots of red which looked like sealing wax from this they get the name of waxwings they were ere slim and trim and quite bandi fied fled and in a quiet way were really beautiful if they stay long farmer brown wont won t have any cherries left remarked peter don t worry kepl ed jenny wren I 1 dont don t know anybody equal to them for roaming about here are most of us with families while those gadabouts hanen t even begun thinking about housel cep ng yet they certainly do 6 Z 0 10 As 1 they were about the S ze of winsome bluebird but did not look in the least like him like those cherries but I 1 guess farmer brown can stand the loss of what they eat he lie may have fewer fenier cherries but hell have more al aleles pies because of them hows how s that demanded peter ob oh replied jenny they were over here i i while ago when those little green canker worms threatened to eat up the whole orchard and they stuffed themselves ies on those worms just the same as they are stuffing themselves on cherries now they are very fond of small fru ts but most of those they eat are the wild kind which are of no use to farmer brown brov n or to anybody else 11 1 ey eat so many cedar berries that some folks call them cedar birds others call them cherry B ads now just loob look at that performance will youl there vere mere five fire of the waxwings and chev were seated s de by side on a branch of the cherry tree one of them had a plump cherry which he passed to the next one this one passed it on to the next and so it went to the end of the row and half h acif way back before it was vas finally eaten peter laughed right out never Is ever in my life I 1 ai e I 1 seen such politeness said he huh exclaimed jenny wren I 1 L dont don t believe it was politeness at all I 1 guess if you got at the truth of the matter you would find each one was stuffed so full that be he thought he dlan didn t have room for that cherry and so passed it along well I 1 think that was politeness just the same retorted peter the first one in have dropped the cher icher ry rv instead of passing it along just then the Wai waxwings wings flew away C T W burgess service |