Thomas Miller

“ Little chickens are like little babies, and they very soon get cold, so they like keeping very close to their mammas."
"Are the little chickens naughty sometimes?" asked Rosy.
[59]
"If you stoop down you will see that she is keeping two of the little chickens warm under her."
"Well, I don't know, Rosy; but I know that I have often thought it very pretty to see how they will all run to their mother when the great hen clucks for them."
"O, mamma, I should so like to hear her cluck," cried Rosy, clapping her hands. ”

“ Then she stood at a little distance to watch her drinking, and Rosy's papa said,—
"See how she enjoys it! Cows like to come here sometimes, like little girls; but French cows don't get out of their houses so often as English ones." ”

“ Rosy jumped up in a minute, crying out,—
"The cows! the cows! Shall we go and see them?"
"If you will make great haste," said the nurse; "but it is getting late."
Rosy never got dressed more [38] quickly. She did not much like even to wait for her morning splash; and while her curls were being combed, she kept saying, "Won't it do, nurse?" and then rather hindering by holding up her little face for a kiss.
As soon as she was quite ready she bustled off, and got down stairs first. Whom should she see there but papa himself, with his hat on? ”

“ They went up one hill and down another, and the ponies ran so fast, and turned round the corners of the roads so quickly, that sometimes mamma was afraid that the carriage would be upset, and that they [29] would all be "tipped out in a heap." Rosy thought it would be good fun if they were. She often rolled about herself, like a little ball, without hurting herself; and she thought that papa and mamma would only get a little dusty, and that it would be a nice little job for her to brush the dust off when she got home. ”

“ She was not much comforted by [22] being told that such little birds were eaten there; so that if the man could shoot one, he would get some money for it which might buy bread for his little ones. But she was rather glad to hear that the little robins must be able by that time of year to take care of themselves, and had left the nest some time; and much more pleased, when, soon after, she saw the dear robin fly right away, so that the man with the gun was not likely to shoot that one at any rate.
Then papa said, "I shouldn't wonder if mamma would like to go out this morning. ”

“ Do get me one to play with."
"Little chickens!" said mamma; "why, they must have come out of [57] their shells very late in the year if they are little ones still, and I am afraid their mother won't let me touch them."
"Do chickens come out of shells?" said Rosy, making very large eyes, and looking quite puzzled.
"Yes, Rosy, out of just such shells as our eggs had this morning; and if in the summer we had given this good hen five or six of her own eggs in this little house of hers, she would have sat upon them, and spread her wings over them to keep them warm ”

“ Just then a number of boys and girls came along the road to meet them, and Rosy saw that all the little ones wore caps, not hats or bonnets. There was one baby with large black eyes, whom she would have liked to kiss and hug. It was so fat and pretty. But it was dressed in a way that she had never seen [30] any baby dressed before, for its feet and legs were put into a sort of large bag, so that it could not kick like other children ”

“ The coffee comes from a long, long way off. It grows on a tree in a very hot country, and looks like little berries till they put it into a mill and turn a handle. Then the berries are ground up to powder, and we put some boiling water over the powder, and when it gets cool we drink it. Haven't you seen mamma pour it out into the cup and put some sugar and milk in for herself and papa? ”

“ Tommy and the kittens?"
"Ah, papa, but there are no dickies here—I mean, hardly any," she answered. "We looked so for the birdies all, all the time; but [18] only two came, and went away again directly."
"We must go out and see the reason of that," said papa, smiling,—"you and I, Rosy, directly after breakfast. We must go and tell the dear birds that Rosy has come."
[19]
A WALK AND A DRIVE.
OSY made such haste to finish her bread and milk, that she was ready to go out before any one else had done breakfast. ”