These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to
attend court.
There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping
from the trees, and the grass was wet.
The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was
narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and
talked and laughed and were very jolly.
As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great
fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the
roadside.
"Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.
"Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.
"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was
Speed. "Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose
name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of
the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a
great fuss about it."
"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third
lawyer, whose name I forget.
"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should
we bother?"
"Yes, why should we?" said Mr.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25