Page:Rootabaga Pigeons by Carl Sandburg.pdf/66

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How Six Pigeons Came Back

"Sit here on the cracker box and listen," he said to her when she came; "listen and you will hear the roses saying, 'This is climbing time for all yellow roses and climbing time is the time to climb; how did we ever learn to climb only by climbing? Listen and you will hear—st. .th. .st. .th. .st. .th. . it is the feet of the yellow roses climbing up and down and leaning out and curving and nearly falling. .st. .th. .st. .th. .'"

So Wiffle the Chick sat there, early in the summer, enjoying herself, sitting on a cracker box, listening to the yellow roses climb around the six crooked ladders.

Hatrack the Horse came out. On his shoulders were two pigeons, on his hands two pigeons. And he reached his hand around behind his back where his hat was hanging and he opened the hat and showed Wiffle the Chick two pigeons in the hat.

"They are lovely pigeons to look at and their

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