later in the day the muley cow had a chat with a song sparrow—a musical person who had a nest cunningly hidden in the center of a bush near the pasture fence.
"what a pleasant family those cowbirds are!" the muley cow happened to remark. "they're so kind!"
the song sparrow gave her a queer look.
"kind!" he echoed.
the muley cow saw at once that he did not agree with her.
"yes!" she insisted. "they were very nice to me this morning. they caught all the flies that were bothering me."
the song sparrow gave a slight sniff. "they were only having their breakfast. you may be sure that they didn't catch the flies to oblige you."
"i wish," said the muley cow, "you wouldn't speak rudely of my friends, because they are very pleasant."
"why, they're outcasts!" the song sparrow cried. "no decent bird will have anything to do with them. they lay their eggs in our nests and we have to bring up their lubberly children for them. if i were you i'd drive them away next time and let the flies bite. what's your tail for, anyhow, except to switch the flies off?"
"really, i don't know," said the muley cow.
she felt somewhat foolish.
and soon afterward the song sparrow told his wife that there was always somethingto learn, no matter if one were as old as the muley cow.
the muley cow couldn't quite believe what mr. song sparrow had told her about the cowbirds. but if it was true, she didn't want anything more to do with them. and if it wasn't true, she intended to be specially agreeable to them.
in order to find out what was what, the muley cow made up her mind to ask the cowbirds a question the very next time she met them.
it wasn't long before they gathered around her again.
"we've come to rid you of flies once more," they announced as they began to jostle one another while they snapped at the insects hovering about the muley cow. and one fat cowbird remarked with a smirk that it was too bad they hadn't brought the children along to help.
the others grinned; for the cowbird youngsters were all being cared for by other birds who had big enough families of their own without looking after outsiders. but they didn't know that the muley cow had heard any stories about that.
"do bring your children along with you the next time you come to the pasture," the muley cow urged them. "i'm very fond of little ones."
the cowbirds tittered. they seemed to think there was a great joke somewhere.
"our children are too small to leave home just yet," the fat person told the muley cow.
"the smaller they are the more i like them," the muley cow declared. "won't you show me where your nests are? i'd love to see the little darlings cuddled in their beds."
the cowbirds stopped catching flies and looked uneasily at one another. the fat one, however, was somewhat bolder than the rest. he fluttered up and alighted right on the back of the muley cow.
"we don't take anybody to see our children until they leave the nests," he told the muley cow.
she knew, then, that the song sparrow had told her the truth.
"and i don't let cowbirds sit on my back—not after they're grown up!" she snapped. as she spoke, the muley cow fetched the pert gentleman a smart smack with her tail.
the blow caught him unawares and knocked him squawking upon the ground. at once his companions began to scold the muley cow. and so did he—as soon as he got his breath back. "you're a rough old thing!" he squalled.
"you're rascals—all of you!" cried the[pg 64] muley cow. "you can't fool me any longer. i know all about you. i wonder who named you cowbirds, for it's a deadly insult to me and all my family."
