I LITTLE ONES IN TROUBLE II POLICEMAN BLUEJAY III THE CHILD-LARKS IV AN AFTERNOON RECEPTION V THE ORIOLE'S STORY VI A MERRY ADVENTURE VII THE BLUEJAY'S STORY VIII MRS. HOOTAWAY IX THE DESTROYERS X IN THE EAGLE'S NEST XI THE ORPHANS XII THE GUARDIAN XIII THE KING BIRD XIV A REAL FAIRYLAND XV THE LAKE OF DRY WATER XVI THE BEAUTY DANCE XVII THE QUEEN BEE XVIII GOOD NEWS XIX THE REBELS XX THE BATTLE XXI THE TINGLE-BERRIES XXII THE TRANSFORMATION LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "GO, BOTH OF YOU, AND JOIN THE BIRD THAT WARNED YOU" THE MAN STOLE THE EGGS FROM THE NEST THE TRIAL OF THE SHRIKE "PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!" CRIED THE BABY GOLDFINCHES SAILING ON THE DRY WATER IN THE HONEY PALACE THE BATTLE "IT'S ALMOST DARK. LET'S GO HOME" [CHAPTER I] _Little Ones in Trouble_ "SEEMS to me, Chub," said Twinkle, "that we're lost." "Seems to me, Twink," said Chubbins, "that it isn't _we_ that's lost. It's the path." "It was here a minute ago," declared Twinkle. "But it isn't here now," replied the boy. "That's true," said the girl. It really _was_ queer. They had followed the straight path into the great forest, and had only stopped for a moment to sit down and rest, with the basket between them and their backs to a big tree. Twinkle winked just twice, because she usually took a nap in the afternoon, and Chubbins merely closed his eyes a second to find out if he could see that long streak of sunshine through his pink eyelids. Yet during this second, which happened while Twinkle was winking, the path had run away and left them without any guide or any notion which way they ought to go. Another strange thing was that when they jumped up to look around them the nearest trees began sliding away, in a circle, leaving the little girl and boy in a clear space. And the trees continued moving back and back, farther and farther, until all their trunks were jammed tight together, and not even a mouse could have crept between them. They made a solid ring around Twinkle and Chubbins, who stood looking at this transformation with wondering eyes. "It's a trap," said Chubbins; "and we're in it." "It looks that way," replied Twinkle, thoughtfully. "Isn't it lucky, Chub, we have the basket with us? If it wasn't for that, we might starve to death in our prison." "Oh, well," replied the little fellow, "the basket won't last long. There's plenty of starve in the bottom of it, Twinkle, any way you can fix it." "That's so; unless we can get out. Whatever do you suppose made the trees behave that way, Chubbins? "Don't know," said the boy.