Project Gutenberg's The Bird's Christmas Carol, by Kate Douglas Wiggin

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Bird's Christmas Carol

Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin

Release Date: January 14, 2008 [EBook #24286]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BIRD'S CHRISTMAS CAROL ***

Produced by David Starner, Greg Bergquist, Marilynda
Fraser-Cunliffe and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Illustration: "THE LITTLE RUGGLESES BORE IT BRAVELY" (_page_ 36)]

THE
BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL

BY

KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

[Illustration]

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
COPYRIGHT, 1888, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1914 AND 1916, BY KATE DOUGLAS RIGGS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE
THIS BOOK OR PARTS THEREOF IN ANY FORM

EIGHT HUNDREDTH THOUSAND

The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

TO THE THREE DEAREST CHILDREN

IN THE WORLD

BERTHA, LUCY, AND HORATIO

CONTENTS AND LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

"_The little Ruggleses bore it bravely_" (page 36)

_Frontispiece_
_Vignette_ _Title_

I. A LITTLE SNOW BIRD 1

"_She is a little Christmas Child_" 7

II. DROOPING WINGS 10

III. THE BIRDS' NEST 15

_Carol at her window_ 21

IV. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER" 22

_The "Window School"_ 31

V. SOME OTHER BIRDS ARE TAUGHT TO FLY 32

"_I want ter see how yer goin' ter behave_" 39

VI. "WHEN THE PIE WAS OPENED, } 48
THE BIRDS BEGAN TO SING!" }

"_The Ruggleses never forgot it_" 55

"_I beat the