Don't you know what a reaper is? It is that with which the farmer cuts
his grain when it is ripe. It is drawn by horses, and it cuts down the
grain stalks with many sharp knives, which move back and forth very
fast.
"I think I will go out to the field and help father," said Helen to
herself.
In another moment the little feet were turned toward the harvest field.
Across the orchard and down the lane she went, carrying her sunbonnet
in her hand and talking to the grasshoppers, which would somehow get in
her way.
But when at last she came to the field, she saw the men and the reaper
far away toward the other side.
Helen kept on across the field, for she thought that she would soon
catch up with the men. But it did not take long for the little feet to
grow very tired.
Then she sat down on a sheaf of wheat and looked around her, wishing
that her father would come.
Just in front of her the tall yellow grain was still standing. Helen
wondered why her father had not cut it down.
As she was looking, a lark flew out from among the grain singing a
rich, clear song. The little child clapped her hands for joy. Then
she jumped from her seat and ran toward the place from which the bird
had flown.
"There is a nest in there, and I am going to find it," said Helen to
herself. She parted the tall yellow wheat-stalks to right and left,
and went forward, looking all about her with her bright, sharp eyes.
She did not have to go very far, for right before her was the nest,
sure enough, and in it were three little birds.
Was there ever anything so cunning as those little heads, with their
tiny bills wide open! It was such a pretty place for a nest, too.
Helen clapped her hands again, she was so happy.
Then she sat down by the nest, but she did not touch the birdies. It
was like being in a golden forest, for the grain was high above her
head.
Soon her eyes began to feel heavy, for she was very tired after her
long walk. She sat down, with her head upon her arm, and in a short
time was fast asleep.
On came the horses, drawing the great reaper with its sharp cutting
knives. Helen's father was driving, and they were coming right toward
the spot where the little child was lying!
Oh, Helen, little does your father think that you are hidden there in
the tall grain!
What was it that made the farmer check his horses all at once? Did
something tell him that his dear baby was in danger?
Oh, no! he thought that she was safe at home with her mother. But he
was a good man with a kind heart, and he saw something that made him
stop.
The lark was flying wildly about over the grain that was in front of
the reaper. She seemed to say, "Stop! stop!" The farmer thought that
he knew what she meant, and he was too kind-hearted to harm a bird's
nest. So he said to one of the men, "Here, Tom, come and hold the
horses. There must be a nest somewhere among this grain. I will walk
in and look for it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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