Section 66. TENDER, TRUSTY, AND TRUE. VI.
Reading edition
Well, little (S. 10, N. 2) Channing knew[1] the birds did not gape because he preached a long sermon, but (S. 6, N. 10) because they were hungry. So[2] what did he do? He ran straight[3] home (S. 63, N. 8), got[4] some nice soft crumbs of bread, and fed the little birds with them (S. 4, N. 5, B); and[5] after that he fed them regularly every day after[6] having come home from school. But[7] one day (S. 19, N. 2), when he went to[8] the nest, there it lay on the ground, torn and bloody, and the little birds all dead; and the father-bird[9] was crying[10] on a wall, and the mother-bird[11] was crying on a tree. Then little Channing tried[12] to tell them that he did not kill[13] their poor young brood; that[14] he never could do such a mean, cruel thing as that, and that[15], on the contrary[16], he had tried to feed them. But it was no use; the little birds could not understand him, and[17] kept on crying; and at last he sat down, and wept bitterly.