he same nature. Some of them,
ranged in a circle at her feet, waited till the crumbs fell near their
little beaks. They were philosophers. There were others who circled
neatly around her in the air, and one even who came and actually pecked
at the slice of bread in her hand.

[Illustration]

She crumbled the bread and threw the crumbs to them all. But they didn't
all eat it, because as Fanny could see, the boldest and cleverest left
nothing for the others.

"It isn't right," she said to them; "each one must take his turn."

They hardly heard her. One is not always heard when one speaks of
justice. She tried in every way to favor the weaker ones, and encourage
the timid, but she did not succeed with them. No matter how she tried
she fed the fat at the expense of the thin. It made her very sorry:
simple child that she was, she did not know it was the way of the world.

Crumb by crumb the slice of bread all went to the little singers, and
Fanny went into her grandmother's house again quite pleased.

III

At evening the grandmother took the basket in which Fanny had brought
the cake to her, and filling it with plums and raisins put the handle
over her arm, and said:

"Now, Fanny, run straight home, and don't stop to amuse yourself and
play with any of the village scamps. Be a good girl always. Good-bye."

[Illustration]

She kissed her, but Fanny stood a while very thoughtful at the
threshold.

"Grandmother," said she.

"Yes, Fanny dear."

"I should like so much to know," said Fanny, "if there were any fine
princes among the birds that ate my bread."

"No," said grandmother; "nowadays there are no more fairies, and the
birds are all creatures."

"Good-bye, Grandmother."

"Good-bye, Fanny."

[Illustration: AS SHE WENT ON HER WAY WITH EVEN STEPS AND LOOKING VERY
WISE AND GOOD SHE HEARD A PRETTY SOUND OF BIRDS CRYING BEHIND HER, AND
TURNING HER HEAD SHE RECOGNIZED THE LITTLE BEGGARS THAT SHE HAD FED WHEN
THEY WERE HUNGRY. THEY HAD BEEN FOLLOWING HER. "GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE
FRIENDS," SHE CALLED TO THEM. "GOOD NIGHT. IT'S TIME TO GO TO BED NOW.
GOOD NIGHT."

_Printed in France_]

And Fanny went away across the fields toward home. She could see the
chimney of her house smoking in the distance against the red sunset sky.

On the way she met Antony, the gardener's little boy, who said to her:
"Are you coming to play with me?"

"No," replied Fanny, "I'm not coming to play with you because my
grandmother