Page:Mrs. Spring Fragrance - Far - 1912.djvu/295

 "And dressed us and salted us!"

"And dried us!"

"And dried us!"

"And eaten us!"

"And eaten us!"

"How rude!"

"How inconsiderate!"

"How altogether uncalled for!"

"Are you quite sure?" inquired the eldest brother of the little Chinese seabird.

"See," she replied, "here is the red cord from the queue of one of the boys. I picked it out as his braid dangled against my head!"

The brothers and sisters looked at one another.

"How near they must have come to her!" exclaimed the eldest sister.

"They might have trampled her to death in a very unbecoming manner!" remarked the second.

"They will be sure to do it tonight when they search with torchlight," was the opinion of the second brother.

And the eldest brother looked sharply down upon the little Chinese seabird, and said:

"If you had not told us what these rude boys intended doing, you would not have had to die alone."

"I prefer to die alone!" proudly replied