Blue Robin, the Girl Pioneer — Part 36

“I did not mean to intrude on your sport, girls,” cried Mrs. Morrow in a moment, turning toward the group, still holding Nathalie’s hand, “but I was as anxious as you all were to meet our new neighbor.”

The color deepened in Nathalie’s cheeks as she cried in her impulsive way, “Oh, but you are not intruding at all, Mrs. Morrow; I am more than anxious to meet you, for—” she stopped a moment, and then flashed, “the girls all say you are lovely!”

There was a wild cheer at this, whereupon, the gray-blue eyes smiled at Nathalie again. Then turning, the lady nodded to the compliments so boisterously expressed by the girls. For a few moments it seemed as if each girl was trying to outdo every other girl as to who should win in this race for tongue speed, as they crowded around Nathalie and their Director.

Presently Nathalie looked up and laughed, for Dick did look so funny as he hobbled from one girl to another—he had always been a lover of girls—on his broomstick. As if divining why she laughed, Dick, who had heard her looked up. “Hello there, Blue Robin!” he cried teasingly, “what have you got to say about it?”

“Blue Robin?” repeated Mrs. Morrow in puzzled query, turning towards Nathalie, “why does he call you Blue Robin? That is the name of this group.”

“But I thought the name of this group was Bluebird,” answered Nathalie in some surprise.

“So it is,” returned Mrs. Morrow, “but you know, bluebird means blue robin, too.”

“There, Dick! I was not so far wrong after all!” cried Nathalie triumphantly, looking at her brother with convincing eyes. Then she turned and quickly told how she had found the bluebird’s nest in the old cedar, how she had called the birdlings blue robins, and how Dick—who was a terrible tease—had plagued her about it ever since.

“But please inform me, Mrs. Morrow,” now spoke that young man, “why you say bluebirds are blue robins?”

“Why, you know, the first bird seen by the Pilgrims when they came to this land was a bluebird—our earliest songster. As it resembled the robin so much, they wrote home to their friends and told of the beautiful blue robins they had seen in the new land.”