Page:Story of the robins.djvu/64

 50 said the father: "I thought, Flapsy, you were to die with apprehension if you saw him again?"

"And so I believe I should have done, had not you, my good father, taught me to conquer my fears," replied Flapsy. "When I saw the top of him, my heart began to flutter to such a degree that I was ready to die, and every feather of me shook; but when I found he stayed but a very little while, I recovered, and was in hopes he was quite gone. My brothers and sisters, I believe, felt as I did; but we comforted one another that the danger was over for this day, and all agreed to make ourselves happy, and not fear this monster, since you assured us he was very harmless. However, before we were perfectly come to ourselves we heard very uncommon noises, sometimes a hoarse sound, disagreeable to our ears as the croaking of a raven, and sometimes a shriller noise, quite unlike the note of any bird that we know of; and immediately after something presented itself to our view which bore a little resemblance to the monster, but by no means so large and frightful. Instead of being all over red, it had on each side two spots of a more beautiful hue than Dicky's breast; the rest of it was of a more delicate white, excepting two streaks of a deep red, like the cherry you brought us the other day, and between these