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Page 5
"To-day I have talked with the birds in the garden," said Sweet Voice,
one of the young pigeons, "the thrush, the blackbird, and bluebird, and
all. They sang to me and I cooed to them, and together we made the world
gay. The bluebird sang of the sunshine, and the blackbird of the
harvest; but the thrush sang the sweetest song. It was about her nest in
the tree."
"I heard you all," said Fleet Wing, the other young pigeon; "for I sat
and listened on the high church tower. I was so high up, there, that I
thought I was higher than anything else; but I saw the great sun shining
in the sky, and the little white clouds, like sky pigeons, sailing above
me. Then, looking down, I saw, far away, this white pigeon-house; and it
made me very glad, for nothing that I saw was so lovely as home."
"I never fly far away from home," said Mother Pigeon, "and to-day I
visited in the chicken yard. The hens were all talking, and they greeted
me with 'Good morning! Good morning!' and the turkey gobbled 'Good
morning!' and the rooster said 'How do you do?' While I chatted with
them a little girl came out with a basket of yellow corn, and threw some
for us all. When I was eating my share, I longed for my dear ones. And
now good night," cooed Mother Pigeon, "it is sleepy time for us all."
"Coo, coo! Good night!" answered the others; and all was still in the
pigeon-house.
Now over in the palace, where the king, and queen, and their one little
daughter lived, there was the sound of music and laughter; but the
king's little daughter was sad, for early the next morning her father,
the king, was to start on a journey, and she loved him so dearly that
she could not bear to have him leave her.
The king's little daughter could not go out in the sunshine like Sweet
Voice and Fleet Wing, but lay all day within the palace on her silken
cushions; for her fine little feet, in their satin slippers, were always
too tired to carry her about, and her thin, little face was as white as
a jasmine flower.
The king loved her as dearly as she loved him; and when he saw that she
was sad, he tried to think of something to make her glad after he had
gone away. At last he called a prince, and whispered something to him.
The prince told it to a count, and the count to a gentleman-in-waiting.
The gentleman-in-waiting told a footman, and the footman told somebody
else, and at last, the boy who waited on the cook heard it.
Early next morning he went to the pigeon-house, where Mother and Father
Pigeon and their two young pigeons lived; and putting his hand through a
door, he took Sweet Voice and Fleet Wing out, and dropped them into a
basket.
Poor Sweet Voice, and Fleet Wing! They were so frightened that they
could not coo! They sat very close to each other in the covered basket,
and wondered when they would see their mother and father and home
again.
All the time, as they sat close together in the basket and wondered,
they were being taken away from home; for the king had started on his
journey, and one of his gentlemen was carrying the basket, very
carefully, with him on his horse.
At last the horses stood still and the basket was taken to the king; and
when he opened it, the two little pigeons looked up and saw that the sun
was high in the sky, and that they were far from home.
When they saw that they were far from home, they were more frightened
than before; but the king spoke so kindly and smoothed their feathers so
gently, that they knew he would take care of them.
Then the king took two tiny letters tied with lovely blue ribbon out of
his pocket; and, while his gentlemen stood by to see, he fastened one
under a wing of each little pigeon.
"Fly away, little pigeons!" he cried; and he tossed them up toward the
sky. "Fly away, and carry my love to my little daughter!"
Fleet Wing, and Sweet Voice spread their wings joyfully, for they knew
that they were free! free! and they wanted to go home.
Everywhere they saw green woods, instead of the red roofs and shining
windows of the town, and Sweet Voice was afraid; but Fleet Wing said:--
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