He was a handsome fellow, and his feelers were perfect; but Miss Cecropia did not like his ways, and she drew away from him just as her friend knocked him off the branch. While they were fighting, another of the strangers flew to her. "May I sit here?" he asked. "Yes," she murmured, thinking her chance had come to get into society. "I must say that it served the fellow right for his rudeness to you," said the stranger, in his sweetest way; "but who is the Moth who is punishing him--that queer-looking one with a crooked feeler?" "Sir," said she, moving farther from him, "he is a friend of mine, and I do not think it matters to you if he is queer-looking." "Oh!" said the stranger. "Oh! oh! oh! You have a bad temper, haven't you? But you are very good-looking in spite of that." There is no telling what he would have said next, for at this minute Miss Cecropia's friend heard the mean things he was saying, and flew against him. It was not long before this stranger also was punished, and then the Moth with the crooked feeler turned to the others. "Do any of you want to try it?" he said. "You must understand that you cannot be rude before her." And he pointed his right fore leg at Miss Cecropia as she sat trembling on the branch. "Her!" they cried mockingly, as they flew away. "There are prettier Moths than she. We don't care anything for her." Miss Cecropia's friend would have gone after them to punish them for this impoliteness, but she clung to him and begged him not to. "You will be killed, I know you will," she sobbed. "And then what will become of me?" "Would you miss me?" he asked, as he felt of one of his wings, now broken and bare. "Yes," she cried. "You are the best friend I have. Please don't go." "But I am such a homely fellow," he said. "I don't see how you can like me since I broke my wing." "Well, I do like you," she said. "Your wing isn't much broken after all, and I _like_ your crooked feeler. It is so different from anybody else's." Miss Cecropia looked very happy as she spoke, and she quite forgot how she once decided to go away from him. There are some people, you know, who can change their minds in such a sweet and easy way that we almost love them the better for it. One certainly could love Miss Cecropia for this, because it showed that she had learned to care more for a warm heart and courage than for whole wings and straight feelers. Mr. Cecropia did not live long after this, unfortunately, but they were very, very happy together, and she often said to her friends, as she laid her eggs in the best places, "I only hope that when my Caterpillar babies are grown and have come out of their chrysalides, they may be as good and as brave as their father was." [Illustration] THE BEES AND THE KINGBIRD