's mother asked his father whether
he had not better call Rollo to them.

"No," said he; "I have told him his duty once, plainly, and now, if he
does not do it, he must take the consequences. I believe I shall leave
him to himself."

The boys went on talking to one another and to Rollo, telling various
stories about their running away from school, stealing apples, and such
things. Rollo was much interested in listening to them, though he knew,
all the time, that he was doing wrong. But he had not the courage to
leave them abruptly, as he ought to have done, and go back to his
father.

Rollo took a great deal of pains with the berries he picked; he chose
the largest and ripest, and was very careful not to get in any sticks
and leaves. His basket was small, and he intended, as soon as he got it
full, to carry it carefully to his mother, and pour his berries into her
large tin pail. He was succeeding finely in this, but then he had
insensibly strayed away so far from his father, that now he was entirely
out of his sight.

At length, as Jim was sitting on a log to rest himself, as he said, he
saw a little bird alight on the branch of a black stump near.

"Hash," said he; "there is a Bob-a-link. See how I will fix him."

So saying, he picked up a stone, and was going to throw it.

Rollo begged him not to kill that pretty little bird but he paid no
attention to what Rollo said. He threw the stone with all his force; but
fortunately it did not hit the bird. It struck the limb that the bird
was perched upon, and shivered it to fragments, and the bird flew away,
terrified.

"Now, what did you do that for?" said Rollo; "you might have hit him."

"Hit him!" said he; "I meant to hit him, to be sure."

"But what good does it do to kill little birds? I found one this
morning, and I would not kill him for any thing."

"Where did you find him?" said Jim.

Rollo then told the boys all about his finding a little bird, in its
nest floating in the brook, and about their naming him Mosette; as is
described in the story called "BLUEBERRYING;" and Jim said, if he had
found him, he would have put him on a fence, for a mark to fire stones
at. "I would have made him peep, I tell you," said he.

Rollo said he would not have him killed on any account. He was going to
carry him home, and feed him, and tame him.

"But where is he now?" said Jim.

"O, we hid him behind a stone, down at the foot of the mountain, where
our horses are