LITTLE THUMBKIN'S GOOD DEED


Thumbkins lived in a tiny, cozy little house right down beneath a
mushroom. The tiny, little house was made of cobwebs which Thumbkins had
gathered from the bushes and weeds. These he had woven together with
thistle-down, making the nicest little nest imaginable.

One day Thumbkins was passing through the meadow and it began to rain.
"Dear me! I shall get soaking wet!" Thumbkins cried as he hurried along.

A mamma meadow-lark, sitting upon her nest, saw Thumbkins running and
called to him: "Come here, little man, and get beneath my wing and I
will keep you warm and dry!"

So Thumbkins crawled beneath Mamma Meadow-Lark's wings and, snuggling
down close to the bottom of the meadow-lark's nest, he found three tiny
little baby meadow-larks. It was too dark for Thumbkins to see them, but
he felt that the baby Meadow-Larks were as warm as toast.

Thumbkins kept very quiet, for the baby meadow-larks were sleepy little
fellows, and before he knew it Thumbkins was sound asleep himself, with
an arm around one of the baby birds.

[Illustration]

Thumbkins did not know how long he had been asleep, but when he awakened