the judge said, gravely: 'Will
Sparrow always speaks the truth. Release the prisoner, for we have
misjudged him. We must exact our vengeance upon the weasel.'

"So we all flew swiftly to the pine stump, which we knew well, and when
we arrived we found the weasel sitting at the edge of his hole and
laughing at us.

"'That is the very weasel I fought with,' said the shrike. 'You can see
where I tore the fur from his head and back with my sharp beak.'

"'So you did,' answered the weasel; 'and in return I killed the little
tomtits.'

"'Did you stick them on the thorns?' asked Judge Bullfinch.

"'Yes,' said the weasel. 'I hoped you would accuse the shrike of the
murder, and kill him to satisfy my vengeance.'

"'We nearly fell into the trap,' returned the judge; 'but Will Sparrow
saw your act and reported it just in time to save the shrike's life.
But tell me, did you also eat Nancy Titmouse's eggs?'

"'Of course,' confessed the weasel, 'and they were very good, indeed.'

"Hearing this, Tom Titmouse became so excited that he made a furious
dash at the weasel, who slipped within his hole and escaped.

"'I condemn you to death!' cried the judge.

"'That's all right,' answered the weasel, sticking just the tip of his
nose out of the hole. 'But you've got to catch me before you can kill
me. Run home, my pretty birds. You're no match for a weasel!'

"Then he was gone from sight, and we knew he was hidden safely in the
stump, where we could not follow him, for the weasel's body is slim and
slender. But I have not lived in the forest all my life without
learning something, and I whispered a plan to Judge Bullfinch that met
with his approval. He sent messengers at once for the ivory-billed
woodpeckers, and soon four of those big birds appeared and agreed to
help us. They began tearing away at the stump with their strong beaks,
and the splinters flew in every direction. It was not yet dark when the
cunning weasel was dragged from his hole and was at the mercy of the
birds he had so cruelly offended. We fell upon him in a flash, and he
was dead almost instantly."

"What became of the shrike?" asked Twinkle.

"He left the forest the next day," answered Policeman Bluejay. "For
although he was innocent of this crime, he was still a butcher-bird,
and he knew our people had no confidence in him."

"It was lucky Will Sparrow came in time," said the girl-lark. "But all
these stories must have made you hungry, so I'd like to in