The Tale of Bobby Bobolink | Page 2

And Mr. Meadowlark couldn't deny it; for he knew that it was true.

II

THE LATEST ARRIVAL
BOBBY BOBOLINK did not reach Pleasant Valley in time to spend
May Day with his old friends of the summer before. And although
everybody was disappointed not to see him--and hear him--the
feathered folk tried to be cheerful and told one another that Bobby
ought to arrive almost any day.
"He always finds it hard to leave the rice fields in the South," Mr.
Red-winged Blackbird observed with a knowing wink at old Mr. Crow,
as the two stopped for a chat on the morning after May Day. "It's
rice-planting time in the South," Mr. Red-winged Blackbird explained.
"Somewhat like corn-planting time here!" And he winked once more.
Although Mr. Crow was in the habit of scratching up Farmer Green's
newly-planted corn, just as Bobby Bobolink uncovered the
freshly-sown rice in the South, Mr. Crow never cared to have any of his
neighbors even hint that he did such a thing. And now he glared at Mr.
Red-winged Blackbird, who continued to wink at him.
"Is there something in your eye?" Mr. Crow inquired in his coldest
manner.
Mr. Red-winged Blackbird had no wish to make Mr. Crow angry. So
he stopped winking at once.
"When you see your friend Bobby Bobolink you'd better tell him to
leave the corn strictly alone," Mr. Crow remarked. "Farmer Green
expects to begin planting in about three weeks. And he counts on me to
watch the field for him. If I catch Bobby Bobolink there he'll wish he
had stayed in the rice fields, down South."
Mr. Red-winged Blackbird smiled. And he told old Mr. Crow not to
worry.
"Bobby Bobolink won't touch the corn," he said. "During the first half
of the summer he lives on such things as caterpillars and grasshoppers,
with a bit of grass-seed now and then."

Old Mr. Crow replied that he was glad to know that.
"He's wise to leave the corn alone," he added. "If Farmer Green was on
the lookout for him--with a gun handy--Bobby Bobolink wouldn't act
so care-free as he generally does. He wouldn't sing such rollicking
songs in the meadow. And now that you've mentioned how he spends
his springs in the South, I don't wonder that he appears glad to get to
Pleasant Valley. For you may well believe that folks are not so fond of
him down there where the rice grows. And unless I'm much mistaken
the planters actually order him out of their fields."
Mr. Red-winged Blackbird told Mr. Crow that he hadn't a doubt that
everything Mr. Crow said was so. And he was just about to remark that
he should think Mr. Crow must lead a care-free, happy-go-lucky life in
winter, in the South, because Farmer Green always stayed in Pleasant
Valley the whole year round. But as he opened his bill to speak he
heard a sound over in the meadow that made him forget what was on
the tip of his tongue.
"Did you hear that song?" he cried. "Hurrah!"
Old Mr. Crow cocked his head on one side and listened. "Yes!" he
agreed. "There's no doubt about it. Bobby Bobolink is here at last!"

III
GREETINGS
AS fast as they could fly, old Mr. Crow and Mr. Red-winged Blackbird
hurried over to the meadow, where they had heard Bobby Bobolink's
bubbling notes.
They found him enjoying himself with a lively company of careless
bachelors--all distant cousins of Bobby Bobolink--who had travelled
with him in a roistering flock all the way from the South.
They were all wonderful singers--those happy Bobolinks. They could

scarcely have kept still if they had wanted to. But somehow Bobby
Bobolink seemed to be just a bit the best singer of the lot.
Perched on a fence-post, Mr. Meadowlark was drinking in Bobby's
merry songs. Jolly Robin had stolen away from the orchard to greet the
newcomer and listen to his first concert. And even Rusty Wren had
forsaken the cherry tree beside the farmhouse. Although Rusty and his
wife were in the midst of putting their summer house to rights, he had
not been able to resist telling Mrs. Wren, who did not like to have him
away from home, that he must make a short visit in the meadow, "to
see a friend."
Mr. Red-winged Blackbird called "Conk-err-ee!" several times to
Bobby Bobolink, meaning that he was glad Bobby was back in Pleasant
Valley and that he hoped he was in good health, and that Bobby
certainly hadn't forgotten how to sing.
As for old Mr. Crow, he winked at Bobby Bobolink and said in a
hoarse voice, "I hear they're planting rice down South."
Bobby Bobolink was not like Mr. Crow, who would have flown into a
rage had any