THE SNOW BIRDS

It had snowed very hard. Ralph and Edward, who were visiting
Grandma in the country, had to stay in the house all day.

When they went to bed it was still snowing, and every time they
woke up during the night, they could hear the wind sighing and
whistling around the house, and through the branches of the old
pine trees.

But the next morning the sun was shining brightly. Such a
glorious day! How the branches of the pine trees did sparkle.

"It looks as if they had been sprinkled with gold dust and
diamonds," exclaimed Ralph.

"Oh Grandma! Please do hurry breakfast. We are going out to
build a fort," cried the boys, bursting into the dining-room.

Grandma smiled and told them to eat a good breakfast, for
building a fort was hard work.

They were soon out in the snow, and what a splendid time they
did have.

The fort did not grow very fast, for they had to stop so often to
snow-ball each other.

When Grandma called them in to dinner they wondered where the
time had gone since breakfast.

After dinner, Ralph was looking out of the window, when he spied
two little birds cuddled up on a branch of a pine-tree.

"Oh, Edward! come here," he called. "See those poor little
birds. They look half frozen and so hungry."

"Poor little things," replied Edward. "Doesn't it make you feel
mean to think what a jolly time we had this morning out of the
snow which has covered up the places where they get their food?"

"Let us get some food from Grandma and throw it out to them,"
said Ralph. "Perhaps they will find it."

The little birds were soon chirpping and flying about merrily and
Ralph said it sounded as if they kept saying, "thank you."

Will not other little children be as kind as Ralph and Edward?

****

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