e and then the other of his feet, and examined his
long spurs.

"He does not sympathize much with his poor mate," whispered the Fairy;
but the Grasshopper took no notice of the speech.

Still the Lark looked at his spurs, and seemed to be very deep in
thought.

"If I had only laid my eggs on the other side of the hedge," sighed the
poor mother, "among the corn, there would have been plenty of time to
rear my birds before harvest time."

"My dear," answered her mate, "don't be unhappy." And so saying, he
hopped up to the eggs, and laying one foot upon the prettiest, he
clasped it with his long spurs. Strange to say, it exactly fitted them.

"Oh, my clever mate!" cried the poor little mother, reviving; "do you
think you can carry them away for me?"

"To be sure I can," replied the Lark, beginning slowly and carefully to
hop on with the egg in his right foot; "nothing more easy. I have often
thought it was likely that our eggs would be disturbed in this meadow;
but it never occurred to me till this moment that I could provide
against this misfortune. I have often wondered what my spurs could be
for, and now I see." So saying, he hopped gently on till he came to the
hedge, and then got through it, still holding the egg, till he found a
nice little hollow place in among the corn, and there he laid it and
came back for the others.

"Hurrah!" cried the Grasshopper, "Larkspurs forever!"

The Fairy said nothing, but she felt heartily ashamed of herself. She
sat looking on till the happy Lark had carried the last of his eggs to a
safe place, and had called his mate to come and sit on them. Then, when
he sprang up into the sky again, exulting and rejoicing and singing to
his mate that now he was quite happy, because he knew what his long
spurs were for, she stole gently away, saying to herself, "Well, I could
not have believed such a thing. I thought he must be a quarrelsome bird
as his spurs were so long; but it appears that I was wrong, after all."

THE PRINCE'S DREAM

If we may credit the fable, there is a tower in the midst of a great
Asiatic plain, wherein is confined a prince who was placed there in his
earliest infancy, with many slaves and attendants, and all the luxuries
that are compatible with imprisonment.

Whether he was brought there from some motive of state, whether to
conceal him from enemies, or to deprive him of rights, has not
transpired; but it is certain that up to the date of this little