Bobby of Cloverfield Farm Part 7

Bobby hunted around until he found it in the clover. Then he took his stand beside it.

Father clucked to the horses. "Get-up, Prince! Get-up, Daisy!" he said.

When he came near Bobby, he turned out and pa.s.sed a few feet away, leaving the nest all safe.

Bobby stood there until Father went around the field and came back again, so that the wheels of the mower would not run over the nest or the horses step on it when pa.s.sing on the other side.

"Are there any more nests in the field?" asked Father.

"There is one at that end," said Bobby, pointing toward the west; "and one down there," pointing toward the east.

"If you will set a tall stick in the ground near each one," said Mr.

Hill, "I can see where the nests are, and you won't have to stand there."

"All right," said Bobby, and he started toward the house for the sticks.

As he was hunting for them, he remembered his little flags that always stood in the corner of the parlor.

"Why not use the flags to keep the bird's nests safe?" he thought.

So he ran into the parlor, took three of the flags and ran back to the clover field.

In the nest at the western end of the field were four little birds.

Bobby pushed one of the sticks into the ground beside it, and the flag floated in the breeze.

Away to the other end of the field he ran, to the nest where there were two little birds. He planted one of the sticks in the ground beside it, and that flag floated in the breeze.

Then he went to the nest where he had stood guard. "You shall have a flag, too," he said.

Farmer Hill kept driving around the field, cutting the clover. But when he came near a flag, he turned out and left a patch of clover standing around the nest.

The sun shone brightly and dried the clover. The breezes blew over it and dried it. Together they changed it from fresh gra.s.s into sweet-smelling hay.

The next day, John hitched Daisy to the hay-rake and drove it up and down the field, raking the hay into long windrows.

The hired men came with their pitchforks and pitched it into little stacks or hayc.o.c.ks.

But they were all careful not to touch the little patches of clover where the flags flew.

People driving along the road wondered why Farmer Hill had left the three little patches of clover standing and why the three little flags were there.

But the three little mother birds knew and were happy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON TOP OF THE WORLD]

VIII

For a few days, Bobby and Betty and Rover had fun playing hide-and-seek among the hayc.o.c.ks.

"Well, Bobby," said Father one morning, "can you and Betty spare the hay, so we can draw it into the barn?"

"Oh, no; we want to play in it some more," said Bobby.

"We must put it into the barn before a rain comes," said Father. "Come down to the field, you and Betty. Perhaps there will be some fun to-day."

Prince and Daisy were hitched to the big lumber wagon. Father and Hobson took the wagon box off and put the wide hay-rack on.

"Come, children, climb up on the rack for a ride to the field," said Father.

Father held Betty; but Bobby, sitting in the bottom of the rack, went jigglety, jigglety, shakety, shake.

And wasn't it fun!

When they came to the field, Father helped the children off. Then he drove along beside a hayc.o.c.k and stopped the horses. Hobson pitched the hay onto the rack with his pitchfork. Father placed the hay around, so the load would be even on both sides. Then he drove on and stopped at the next hayc.o.c.k.

Higher and higher the load grew.

"Look at Father, Betty," said Bobby. "He is almost up to the sky."

When the load was high enough, Father called to Hobson, "That will do."

In the middle of the load, Father pushed the hay aside to make a nest. A very big nest it was, too big for a robin, too big for the old brown hen.

Then he called down, "Bobby, how would you and Betty like to ride to the barn on the load of hay?"

"That would be grand," said Bobby; "but we can't get up there."

Father said to Hobson, "I'm ready for the children now."

Hobson lifted Bobby to the foot of the little ladder which is at the front of a hay-rack. Bobby climbed up the ladder and Father reached down and pulled him up to the top of the load.

"Here's a safe place for you," said Father, as he put Bobby in the big nest.

Then Hobson lifted Baby Betty. "You had better bring her all the way up," said Father. "She is too little to climb the ladder."

Hobson carried her up the ladder and put her in the nest.

"You may drive," said Father to Hobson. "I'll stay with the children."

So there they were in the nest, Father and Bobby and Betty, on top of the big load of hay.

All the way up the lane they rode.

"We must be close to the sky," said Bobby.

"We're on top of the world," said Father.