thrice blessed be the girl or boy
who fills another's heart with joy.
one day just by chance bob white flew up in a tree where he could look down in fanner brown's henyard, and there he discovered the lost little bob and talked with him. then bob white flew back to the green meadows where little mrs. bob was anxiously waiting for him, and his heart was light. mrs. bob was watching for him and flew to meet him.
“it's all right!” cried bob. “i found him over in fanner brown's henyard.” of course “him” meant the young bob white who had been given up as killed. “what?” exclaimed mrs. bob.
“what is a henyard, and what is he doing there?”
“a henyard is a place where farmer brown keeps a lot of big foolish birds,” explained bob, “and little bob is a prisoner there.”
“how dreadful!” cried mrs. bob. “if he's a prisoner, how can you say it's all right?”
“because it is,” replied bob. “he's perfectly safe there, and he wouldn't be if he were here with us. you see, he can't fly. one of his wings was broken by the shot from that terrible gun. farmer brown's boy found him and has been very kind to him. he fixed that wing so that i believe it is going to get quite as well as ever. you know quite as well as i do how much chance little bob would have had over here with a broken wing. reddy fox or redtail the hawk or some one else would have been sure to get him sooner or later. but up there they can't, because he is in a wire pen. he can't get out, but neither can they get in, and so he is safe. he and farmer brown's boy are great friends. with my own eyes i saw him feed from the hand of farmer brown's boy. do you know, i believe that boy is really and truly our friend and can be trusted.”
“that is what peter rabbit is always saying, but after all we've suffered from them, i can't quite make up my mind that any of those great two-legged creatures are to be trusted,” said little mrs. bob. “i've got to see for myself.”
“you shall,” declared bob. “tomorrow morning you shall go up there and i'll stay here to look after the rest of the youngsters. i am afraid if we left them alone some of them would be careless or foolish enough to go where the hunters with terrible guns would find them.”
so the next morning mrs. bob went up to visit young bob, and she saw all that bob had seen the day before. she returned with a great load off her mind. she knew that bob was right, and that fanner brown's boy had proved himself a true friend from whom there was nothing to fear. the next day bob and mrs. bob took the whole family up there, for fanner brown's boy had scattered food for them just outside the henyard where the biddies could not get it, and bob was smart enough to know that no hunter would dare look for them so close to farmer brown's house. morning after morning they went up there to get their breakfast, and they didn't even fly when farmer brown's boy and farmer brown himself came out to watch them eat.
then one morning a wonderful thing happened. farmer brown's boy took young bob out of his pen in the hen-yard. young bob looked quite himself by this time, for the strips of cloth which had bound his broken wing in place had been taken off, and his wing was as good as ever. fanner brown's boy took him outside the henyard and gently put him down on the ground.
“there you are! now go and join your family and in the future keep out of the way of hunters,” said he, and laughed to see young bob scamper over to join his brothers and sisters.
such a fuss as they made over him! suddenly bob white flew up to the top of a post, threw back his head and whistled with all his might, “bob white! bob white! bob white!” you see, he just had to tell all the great world of the joy in his heart, although this was not the time of year in which he usually whistles.
and this is how it happened that bob white and his whole family came regularly to farmer brown's for their breakfasts, and no hunter ever had another chance to carry fright and suffering and sorrow into their midst.
so this is all about bob white and his family because ol' mistah buzzard has come all the way up from ol' virginny for me to tell you about him and his adventures. i've promised to do it in the very next book.
