The Burgess Bird Book for ChildrenBurgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
General
The Burgess Bird Book for Children
Burgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
Birds -- Juvenile literature
All the time Mrs. Bully sat in the little round doorway, encouraging
him. She knew that as long as she sat there it would be impossible for
either Jenny or Mr. Wren to get in. Truth to tell, she was enjoying
it all, for she is as quarrelsome and as fond of fighting as is Bully
himself.
“You're a sneak! You're a robber! That's my house, and the sooner you
get out of it the better!” shrieked Jenny Wren, jerking her tail with
every word as she hopped about just out of reach of Bully.
“It may have been your house once, but it is mine now, you little
snip-of-nothing!” cried Bully, rushing at her like a little fury. “Just
try to put us out if you dare! You didn't make this house in the first
place, and you deserted it when you went south last fall. It's mine now,
and there isn't anybody in the Old Orchard who can put me out.”
Peter Rabbit nodded. “He's right there,” muttered Peter. “I don't like
him and never will, but it is true that he has a perfect right to that
house. People who go off and leave things for half a year shouldn't
expect to find them just as they left them. My, my, my what a dreadful
noise! Why don't they all get together and drive Bully and Mrs. Bully
out of the Old Orchard? If they don't I'm afraid he will drive them out.
No one likes to live with such quarrelsome neighbors. They don't belong
over in this country, anyway, and we would be a lot better off if they
were not here. But I must say I do have to admire their spunk.”
All the time Bully was darting savagely at this one and that one and
having a thoroughly good time, which is more than could be said of any
one else, except Mrs. Bully.
“I'll teach you folks to know that I am in the Old Orchard to stay!”
shrieked Bully. “If you don't like it, why don't you fight? I am not
afraid of any of you or all of you together.” This was boasting, plain
boasting, but it was effective. He actually made the other birds believe
it. Not one of them dared stand up to him and fight. They were content
to call him a bully and all the bad names they could think of, but that
did nothing to help Jenny and Mr. Wren recover their house. Calling
another bad names never hurts him. Brave deeds and not brave words are
what count.
How long that disgraceful squabble in the Old Orchard would have lasted
had it not been for something which happened, no one knows. Right in the
midst of it some one discovered Black Pussy, the cat who lives in Farmer
Brown's house, stealing up through the Old Orchard, her tail twitching
and her yellow eyes glaring eagerly. She had heard that dreadful racket
and suspected that in the midst of such excitement she might have a
chance to catch one of the feathered folks. You can always trust Black
Pussy to be on hand at a time like that.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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