. Forrester's pictorial miscellany for the family circle . close by the gardener, and the hedge looked up to the tiny little treewith great respect. It was so short itself that it fancied the treewas very tall; there were several brambles and nettles also roundabout, and they were perpetually praising the little tree, arid increas-ing its vanity by their flattery. One day an old rook, the oldest inthe rookery, perched on the little tree. What do you mean, said the tiny tree, by troubling me withyour familiarity ? The idea of such a bird as you presuming to restUpon my branches! and the little
. Forrester's pictorial miscellany for the family circle . close by the gardener, and the hedge looked up to the tiny little treewith great respect. It was so short itself that it fancied the treewas very tall; there were several brambles and nettles also roundabout, and they were perpetually praising the little tree, arid increas-ing its vanity by their flattery. One day an old rook, the oldest inthe rookery, perched on the little tree. What do you mean, said the tiny tree, by troubling me withyour familiarity ? The idea of such a bird as you presuming to restUpon my branches! and the little tree rustled its leaves and lookedvery angry. Caw ! caw ! quoth the rook, which signified Ah ! ah ! Why,better trees than you are glad to give me a resting-place; I thoughtyou would be gratified by the compliment paid you by alighting onyour quivering bough, and by the pleasure of rny company; a littlething like you could hardly have possessed much attraction for kingrook; but, indeed, I only perched upon you because you are a littletaller than ^sss^f The dwarf tree considered it as great an insult to be called alittle thinff as some folks do to be considered not clever; and THE CLEVER BOY. 173 he said a number of foolish words ; amongst others, that therewere birds that could not fly over him. Ay, indeed, answered the rook, wrens that never mounthigher than a hedge ! The rook soon flew away caw cawing, at the folly and conceitof the little tree, and meeting the gardener — Good friend, hesaid, I have just now been much struck by the conceit and absurd-ity of a little tree beside yonder hedge. It is rather a pretty littlething, and might be brought to something, if it were in the societyof trees taller and wiser than itself; but while it has no other com-panions than brambles and bushes it will never try to grow tall: do,good friend, take pity on this tree, and remove it into better com-pany. And the gardener had a great respect for the opinion of theold rook, and w
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Keywords: ., booka, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectnaturalhistory
