made me very glad, for nothing that I saw was so lovely as home."

"I never fly far away from home," said Mother Pigeon, "and to-day I
visited in the chicken yard. The hens were all talking, and they greeted
me with 'Good morning! Good morning!' and the turkey gobbled 'Good
morning!' and the rooster said 'How do you do?' While I chatted with
them a little girl came out with a basket of yellow corn, and threw some
for us all. When I was eating my share, I longed for my dear ones. And
now good night," cooed Mother Pigeon, "it is sleepy time for us all."

"Coo, coo! Good night!" answered the others; and all was still in the
pigeon-house.

Now over in the palace, where the king, and queen, and their one little
daughter lived, there was the sound of music and laughter; but the
king's little daughter was sad, for early the next morning her father,
the king, was to start on a journey, and she loved him so dearly that
she could not bear to have him leave her.

The king's little daughter could not go out in the sunshine like Sweet
Voice and Fleet Wing, but lay all day within the palace on her silken
cushions; for her fine little feet, in their satin slippers, were always
too tired to carry her about, and her thin, little face was as white as
a jasmine flower.

The king loved her as dearly as she loved him; and when he saw that she
was sad, he tried to think of something to make her glad after he had
gone away. At last he called a prince, and whispered something to him.
The prince told it to a count, and the count to a gentleman-in-waiting.