Bob had on his traveling suit, for a vagabond must go a-journeying. It
would never do to stay too long in one place, and here it was August
already. Why, he had been in Maine two months and more, and it is small
wonder he was getting restless. Restless, though not unhappy! Bob was
never that; for the joy of the open way was always before him, and
whenever the impulse came, he could set sail and be off.
The meadows of Maine had been his choice for his honeymoon, and a glad
time of it he and May had had with their snug little home of woven
grass. That home was like an anchor to them both, and held their hearts
fast during the days it had taken to make five grown-sized birds out of
five eggs. But now that their sons and daughters were strong of wing and
fully dressed in traveling suits like their mother's, it was well that
Bob had put off his gay wedding clothes and donned a garb of about the
same sort as that worn by the rest of his family; for dull colors are
much the best for trips.
Now that they were properly dressed, there was nothing left to see to,
except to join the Band of Bobolink Vagabonds. Of course no one can be a
member of this band without the password; but there was nothing about
that to worry Bob. When any of them came near, he called, "Chink," and
the gathering flock would sing out a cheery "Chink" in reply: and that
is the way he and his family were initiated into the Band of Bobolink
Vagabonds. Anyone who can say "Chink" may join this merry company. That
is, anyone who can pronounce it with just exactly the right sound!
So, with a flutter of pleasant excitement, they were gone. Off, they
were, for a land that lies south of the Amazon, and with no more to say
about it than, "Chink."
No trunk, no ticket, no lunch-box; and the land they would seek was four
thousand miles or more away! Poor little Bob! had he but tapped at the
door of Man with his farewell "Chink," someone could have let him see a
map of his journey. For men have printed time-tables of the Bobolink
Route, with maps to show what way it lies, and with the different
Stations marked where food and rest can be found. The names of some of
the most important Stations that a bobolink, starting from Maine, should
stop at on the way to Brazil and Paraguay, are Maryland, South Carolina,
Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, and Venezuela.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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