hall have a
flag, too," he said.

Farmer Hill kept driving around the field, cutting the clover. But when
he came near a flag, he turned out and left a patch of clover standing
around the nest.

The sun shone brightly and dried the clover. The breezes blew over it
and dried it. Together they changed it from fresh grass into
sweet-smelling hay.

The next day, John hitched Daisy to the hay-rake and drove it up and
down the field, raking the hay into long windrows.

The hired men came with their pitchforks and pitched it into little
stacks or haycocks.

But they were all careful not to touch the little patches of clover
where the flags flew.

People driving along the road wondered why Farmer Hill had left the
three little patches of clover standing and why the three little flags
were there.

But the three little mother birds knew and were happy.

[Illustration: ON TOP OF THE WORLD]

VIII

For a few days, Bobby and Betty and Rover had fun playing hide-and-seek
among the haycocks.

"Well, Bobby," said Father one morning, "can you and Betty spare the
hay, so we can draw it into the barn?"

"Oh, no; we want to play in it some more," said Bobby.

"We must put it into the barn before a rain comes," said Father. "Come
down to the field, you and Betty. Perhaps there will be some fun
to-day."

Prince and Daisy were hitched to the big lumber wagon. Father and Hobson
took the wagon box off and put the wide hay-rack on.

"Come, children, climb up on the rack for a ride to the field," said
Father.

Father held Betty; but Bobby, sitting in the bottom of the rack, went
jigglety, jigglety, shakety, shake.

And wasn't it fun!

When they came to the field, Father helped the children off. Then he
drove along beside a haycock and stopped the horses. Hobson pitched the
hay onto the rack with his pitchfork. Father placed the hay around, so
the load would be even on both sides. Then he drove on and stopped at
the next haycock.

Higher and higher the load grew.

"Look at Father, Betty," said Bobby. "He is almost up to the sky."

When the load was high enough, Father called to Hobson, "That will do."

In the middle of the load, Father pushed the hay aside to make a nest. A
very big nest it was, too big for a robin, too big for the old brown
hen.

Then he called down, "Bobby, how would you and Betty like to ride to the
barn on the load of hay?"

"That would be grand," said Bobby; "but we can't get up there