"It seems to me," said the Cuckoo, "that things have been going very
badly with us for some time, and that all would be remedied if we had
a king to settle our affairs and rule over us. I would suggest that we
choose a king to-day."
Oh, how the birds chirped, and chattered, and peeped at that. The
Cuckoo had imagined that she would have the say as to which bird
should be king, and she had in mind one of her own sons, but, no
indeed! Each bird at the tea party was sure that he had royal blood in
his veins, and they all began to argue and quarrel about it.
About that time a Rooster and a Hen passed by, taking their daily
airing. They had not been invited to the tea party and so they were
greatly excited at hearing the commotion; grandfathers, and fathers,
and cousins, and sons among the birds were all talking and arguing at
once.
"Wat? Wat?" clucked the Hen.
"I will go and see, my dear," said the Rooster, and so he rushed into
the midst of the tea party to see what all the hubbub was about. When
he found out, he had a plan to offer. He was often called upon to
settle disputes among the Hens, so he was always quite willing to help
in any such matters.
"Have a test! Have a test!" said the Rooster. "You will never decide
anything by arguing in this way; but it shall be decided that the bird
who is able to fly the highest shall be your king.
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