for a good night's rest. Such impudence aroused his ire. He did not
hesitate a second, but dived into their midst and pecked furiously at
the poor, unsuspecting intruders. The chickens, taken utterly by
surprise, fluttered to the ground without offering any resistance.
They cackled so loudly, however, that the noise brought Titus to their
rescue, and he succeeded in capturing the badly frightened hens.

Mr. Mocking Bird, triumphant, ascended to his anxious spouse.

"Dearest," she cried, "you're not hurt, are you?"

"Hurt!" he repeated boastfully, "hurt? Well, I should say not. It was
only some upstart chickens who dared to sneak into the house, and I'm
more than a match for any number of such. I guess we shan't be
disturbed again by chickens or by impudent dogs and cats."

Mr. Mocking Bird proved right in his surmise. The birds thereafter
enjoyed their home without further intrusion.

Under Beth's care, the chickens flourished finely. They laid many an
egg which in due time were placed beneath mamma hens.

There was a very proud little girl in the Davenport family when finally
balls of yellow broke through the egg shells.

Then Beth began saving eggs for Easter, and, on Easter Day, she found
that she had enough to give every darky one, besides having all that
were wanted for her own family.

This Eastertide brought new diversions to Beth. For one thing, she