KATHERINE. 95

Katherine sat watching them. “TI wish I were a bird,” she
thought, “then I could fly far, far away, and mamma would
be sorry she was so mean to me, for I wouldn’t come back for
years and years.”

Just then a little bird hopped on the window-sill close
to her. He sat very still, and Katherine looked at him very
steadily ; as she was looking she noticed that he began to grow
larger and larger, till soon he was twice as large as Katherine,
and she saw that the little cap upon his head was made of
black silk, and that he wore spectacles, over which he looked
gravely at Katherine. As she looked around her, somewhat
abashed by the way the bird was regarding her, she saw that
there was a large number of these great creatures, all stead-
fastly looking at her. She began to feel very uncomfortable
and very small; and when they came closer to her, and one of
them began to speak in a harsh, rasping voice, she was abso-
-lutely terrified, and thought of how she could make her escape ;
but she saw that she was the centre of a large circle of huge
birds. So she stood still, her attention being drawn to the bird
who was speaking.

‘We will take her portrait,” he said, and immediately each
one whipped out from under his wing a large tablet and began
to draw rapidly.

“ Keep still!” cried one of them in a loud voice.

Katherine trembled, and tried to be very quiet.

“Turn this way!” called another.