ace. But he caught a fat fly that was
passing, popped it into her mouth and struck up so pretty a trill that
she fell quite in love with him again.

[Illustration]

At that moment a deep sigh rose from the water under the bank.

"That came from a mother," said Mrs. Reed-Warbler. "I could hear that
plainly."

"That's what it did," said a hoarse voice.

The Reed-Warblers peeped down and beheld a cray-fish, who sat in the mud
staring with her stalked eyes.

"Dear me, is that you, Goody Cray-Fish?" said Mrs. Reed-Warbler.

"It is indeed, dear madam," said the cray-fish. "It's myself and no
other. I was just sitting down here in my dirt listening to what the
quality were saying. Heavens, what a good time a fine lady like you
enjoys, compared with another!"

"Every one has his burden," said Mrs. Reed-Warbler. "Believe me, it's no
joke sitting here and perspiring."

The cray-fish crossed her eyes and folded her antennae.

"Yes, you may well talk," said she. "How long does it last with you?
Four or five weeks, I should say. But I have to go for six months with
mine."

"Goodness gracious! But then you can move about."

"Oh," said Goody, "moving is always a rather slow matter for a
cray-fish. And then you have only five eggs, ma'am, but I have two
hundred."

"Dear me!" said the reed-warbler. "Then your poor husband has to slave
to provide food for that enormous family."

"He? The monster!" replied the cray-fish. "He knows too much for that. I
haven't so much as seen him since the wedding."

"Then you must have a huge, big nest for all those eggs," said the wife.

"It's easy to see that you don't know poor folks' circumstance, dear
madam," said the cray-fish. "People of our class can't afford nests. No,
I just have to drag the eggs about with me as best I may."

"Where are they, then, Goody Cray-Fish?"

"I carry them on my hind legs, lady. I have ten little hind legs, you
see, besides my eight proper legs and my claws, which are very necessary
to bite one's way through this wicked world with. And on each of my hind
legs there is a heap of twenty eggs. That makes two hundred in all. I'll
show them to you, if you like. The eggs are worth looking at."

[Illustration]

So saying, the cray-fish turned over on her back and stuck out her tail
as far as she could. And there the eggs were, just as she had said, on
ten little back legs.

"That comes of having too many hind-legs," said the reed-warbler.

"For sha