He came to the door of a cottage, In travelling round the earth, Where a little woman was making cakes And baking them on the hearth; And being faint with fasting, For the day was almost done, He asked her from her store of cakes To give him a single one. So she made a very little cake, But as it baking lay, She looked at it, and thought it seemed Too large to give away. Therefore she kneaded another, And still a smaller one, But it looked, when she turned it over, As large as the first had done. Then she took a tiny scrap of dough, And rolled and rolled it flat; And baked it as thin as a wafer-- But she couldn't part with that. For she said, "My cakes that seem too small, When I eat them myself, Are yet too large to give away." So she put them on the shelf. Then the good Saint Peter grew angry, For he was hungry and faint; And surely such a woman Was enough to provoke a saint. And he said, "You are far too selfish To dwell in a human form, To have both food and shelter, And fire to keep you warm. "Now, you shall build as the birds do, And shall get your scanty food By boring, and boring, and boring, All day in the hard dry wood." Then up she went through the chimney, Never speaking a word, And out of the top flew a woodpecker, For she was changed to a bird. She had a scarlet cap on her head, And that was left the same, But all the rest of her clothes were burned Black as a coal in the flame. And every country schoolboy Has seen her in the wood; Where she lives in the trees till this very day, Boring and boring for food. And this is the lesson she teaches: Live not for yourself alone, Lest the needs you will not pity Shall one day be your own. Give plenty of what is given you, Listen to pity's call; Don't think the little you give is great, And the much you get is small. Now, my little boy, remember that, And try to be kind and good, When you see the woodpecker's sooty dress, And see her scarlet hood. You mayn't be changed to a bird, though you live As selfishly as you can; But you will be changed to a smaller thing-- A mean and a selfish man. --Phoebe Cary. [1] Used by permission of and special arrangement with Houghton, Mifflin & Co. ALL ABOUT THE WOODPECKER SUGGESTIONS FOR FIELD LESSONS Comes north in May--often stays all winter--most commonly seen in the fall. Song--shrill, lively call resembling the voice of the tree-frog. Male and female have crimson head and neck--upper parts black with white marking--white band across wings--most conspicuous when bird is in flight. Lower parts white--bill wedge-shaped, strong, and sharp--tail strong and stiff, used as a brace when clinging to a tree-trunk and tapping with bill--toes arranged two in front and two behind for better support in clinging to tree trunks, etc.