ey
weren't surprised. But all the others gazed at him in amazement.

Now, to Jasper Jay the golden bird looked enormous. He was perched
high up on a rod which rose above the roof. And he seemed very proud
and disdainful. In fact, he paid no attention at all to the curious
flock that watched him.

For a little while nobody said a word. And Jasper Jay was the first to
speak.

"Fiddlesticks!" he cried. "This is nothing but a barnyard fowl. He's a
rooster--that's what he is!"

XVIII

ON TOP OF THE BARN

All the feathered folk on the roof of Farmer Green's barn saw at once
that Jasper Jay had told the truth. The golden bird was a rooster,
just as Jasper had said. But it seemed strange to them that a rooster
should sit on so high a perch.

"It looks to me," said old Mr. Crow, "it looks to me as if he had
flown up here and lighted on that rod and then was afraid to fly down
again."

"I'll knock him off!" cried Jasper Jay. And he made ready to swoop at
the stranger.

"I wouldn't do that!" said Jolly Robin.

"No!" Jasper Jay replied. "I know you wouldn't. You'd be _afraid_ to
do such a thing."

"It's not that," Jolly Robin told him, "though he _is_ ten times my
size. This is what I mean: He's a peaceable fellow. And though I will
admit that he seems a little too proud, he hasn't harmed anybody. So
why should anybody harm him?"

"He's a barnyard fowl and he belongs on the ground," Jasper Jay
declared. "If we let him stay up here in the air there's no knowing
what Farmer Green's fowls will do. All his hens and roosters--and he
has a hundred of 'em--may take to flying about where they don't
belong. This golden gentleman is setting them a bad example. And it is
my duty to teach him a lesson."

Now, the real reason why Jasper wanted to knock the golden rooster
off his high perch was because he was so handsome. Jasper's fine blue
suit looked quite dull beside the golden dress of the stranger. And
that was more than Jasper could stand.

"Here I go!" Jasper cried. And he left his friends and flew straight
at the golden fowl.

Jasper struck the rooster such a hard blow that he spun around on his
perch twice. But he didn't lose his balance. And he never said a
single word.

"I'll pull out his tail-feathers this time!" Jasper squawked, as he
darted at the stranger again. But Jasper had no luck at all. Though he
pecked viciously at the tail of the golden rooster, he succeeded only
in hurting his own bill.