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The Song of the Cardinal by Gene Stratton-Porter
page 39 of 89 (43%)
poor, quivering little bird. She was left so badly frightened
that she could not move for a long time.

All the tribulations of birdland fell to her lot. She was so
frail and weak she lost her family in migration, and followed
with some strangers that were none too kind. Life in the South
had been full of trouble. Once a bullet grazed her so closely
she lost two of her wing quills, and that made her more timid
than ever. Coming North, she had given out again and finally had
wandered into Rainbow Bottom, lost and alone.

She was such a shy, fearsome little body, the females all flouted
her; and the males never seemed to notice that there was material
in her for a very fine mate. Every other female cardinal in
Rainbow Bottom had several males courting her, but this poor,
frightened, lonely one had never a suitor; and she needed love so
badly! Now she had been kissed by this magnificent stranger!

Of course, she knew it really was not her kiss. He had intended
it for the bold creature that had answered his challenge, but
since it came to her, it was hers, in a way, after all. She hid
in the underbrush for the remainder of the day, and was never so
frightened in all her life. She brooded over it constantly, and
morning found her at the down curve of the horseshoe, straining
her ears for the rarest note she ever had heard. All day she hid
and waited, and the following days were filled with longing, but
he never came again.

So one morning, possessed with courage she did not understand,
and filled with longing that drove her against her will, she
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