apt
to be cross when we go near her little chicks? It is best to be
careful, then, for if she thinks you mean to hurt them she will fly at
you and hurt you with her sharp bill.

When the artist, Mrs. Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau, visited this home
and saw the mother and her child watching this old hen and her
chickens, it is no wonder she wanted to paint them. She wanted to make
us feel the love of the mother hen for her little ones as well as that
of the other mother for her children.

The child is delighted, as, safe in his mother's arms, he looks around
to see if she is watching, too. There is a little baby sister in the
cradle, and that is the reason he keeps very quiet and does not speak.
No doubt the mother has rocked the baby to sleep. You can see how the
baby is fastened in the cradle so she cannot fall out. That
odd-looking top over part of the cradle is placed there to keep the
light from the baby's eyes. Just now it is moved a little to one side,
and we can see part of the baby's face.

This home probably belongs to a French peasant who goes to his work
very early in the morning, or he would be with his family now.

It must be a very hot day in summer, for both mother and child are
barefooted and they are dressed for warm weather.

See the pots and pans hanging on the wall under the shelf, and the old
kettle hanging over the large open fireplace! The room must be
kitchen, bedroom, and dining room all in one; perhaps they have only
this one room. There is a basket on the stand, and most likely it is
filled with vegetables brought in from the garden for dinner.

What a happy, healthy little boy this is, with his hair in little
ringlets all over his head! His half-closed hand makes us think he
still has some corn left to scatter on the floor for the chickens.

It seems very strange to see chickens running about in the house. If
the mother and child were not dressed so as to keep themselves cool we
should think they had let them in because it was too cold for them
outside.

The mother looks as proud of her small son as the mother hen is of her
young family. What a pleasant face she has! The old hen does not feel
anxious when she is near, for she knows this other mother is kind and
will care for her and her fluffy little chicks. The boy, too, seems to
be very careful, and the hen is glad to have the grain scattered by
his kind little hand.

There is so much bright light in the picture that we are sure t