take a great deal of pride in his morning task
of awakening the household. It could hardly be called a task,
however, because Rusty thoroughly enjoyed singing, though when he
sang--as when he did anything else--he put every ounce of his
strength into the effort. With his head lifted as high as his short
neck would permit, and his tail (which usually stuck pertly
upwards) drooping downward, as if he had for the moment forgotten
it, he poured forth his music with such fervor that his small body
actually trembled.

You see, Rusty Wren never did things by halves. When he did
anything he was never satisfied with less than his best.

And that was another reason why Farmer Green liked him.

IV

RUSTY IS JEALOUS

Before Rusty Wren came to live in Farmer Green's dooryard the
family had been known to oversleep now and then. Working hard all
day long as everybody did (except Johnnie Green, who played hard
enough--goodness knows!), they slept very soundly at night. And two
or three times every summer they were sure to rise late, just by
accident.

Though such a mishap always annoyed Farmer Green, it never troubled
either the hired man or Johnnie in the least. On the contrary, they
seemed to enjoy those occasions. But with Rusty Wren to rouse them
at dawn all that was changed. And Farmer Green remarked one day
that one thing was certain; they would lose no time that summer by
staying in bed too long.

That very afternoon he had to go to the village. And when he came
home he brought several surprises with him.

Those surprises pleased Johnnie and his mother so much that when he
went to bed that night Farmer Green felt even happier than was
usual with him. He went to bed somewhat early because he said he
had more work than ever to do the next day, on account of his
having gone to the village.

But happy as he was that night, the following morning Farmer Green
was quite out of sorts. For the whole family overslept. Not a soul
awaked until the sun had been up at least an hour.

"I don't understand----" Farmer Green said at the breakfast
table--"I don't understand why I failed to hear that wren this
morning. I must have been unusually sleepy."

The hired man helped himself to some more griddle-cakes and
remarked that it was a pity. But somehow he did not _look_ sorry,
in spite of what he said.

"We'll go to bed early to-night," Farmer Green continued, "so we'll
be sure to wake up before sunrise."

And, strang