ary fowl?" drawled the Peacock.
"He must be some great noble from a far country."

"How beautiful!" murmured his silly cousin. "How odd! How fascinating!
How distinguished! I wish the Crow had painted me like that!" The Crow
heard these words and swelled with pride, casting a scornful glance at
his old friend as he swept by.

Next he met a little Sparrow who was picking bugs from the grass. "Out
of my way, Birdling!" cried the Crow haughtily. "I am the King."

"The King!" gasped the Sparrow, nearly choking over a fat bug, he was so
surprised. "I did not know that the King wore such a robe. How
gorgeous--but how queer!"

Next the Crow met Mr. Stork, standing gravely on one leg and thinking of
the little baby which he was going to bring that night to the cottage by
the lake. The Stork looked up in surprise as the wonderful stranger
approached.

"Bless me!" he exclaimed, "whom have we here? I thought I knew all
Birdland, but I never before saw such a freak as this!"

[Illustration: _"Bless me!" he exclaimed, "whom have we here?"_]

"I am the King. I am to be the new King," announced the Crow. "Is
there any bird more gorgeous than I?"

"Truly, I hope not," said the Stork gravely. "Yet the Woodcock is a very
foolish bird. One never knows what he will do next. If he should try to
be fashionable"--

But the Crow had passed on without listening to the Stork's sarcasm.

As he went through Birdland he drew behind him a following of feathered
citizens, chattering, screaming, tittering all together like the crowd
after a circus procession. All the birds, big and little, plain and
pretty, flocked to see this wonderful stranger who because of his fine
clothes was coming to have himself named King. Some of them thought him
truly beautiful, some thought him ridiculous; some envied him, some
jeered. But they all stared; and the more they stared the more conceited
became the Crow, the more sure that the kingdom was to be his.

At last they came into the presence of the Eagle himself. That royal
bird was perched upon his eyrie far up on the cliff. Below him gathered
the dense flock of birds, waiting to see what would happen when the Crow
demanded to be made King in the Eagle's place. The Eagle had been warned
of the matter by the little Humming-Bird, and was looking very majestic
and scornful. But the Swallow flew round and round in great circles,
twittering excitedly, and in each circle sweeping nearer and nearer to
the grou