![Image](https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3846/14570400707_dbd06b8c97_m.jpg)
One day Magpie received a letter
and he completely refused to share
all the words that were within it,
pointing his beak up in the air.
The friends thought it rather strange
that anyone should write to him,
“It looks like it might be important”
Mr Owl loudly hooted to Jim.
“I think it’s from a girlfriend”
piped up sweet little Jenny Wren,
“Who he doesn’t want to speak about
in case we laugh at him again”.
Very soon a police van came
and poor Magpie was taken away,
“ Goodness this must be very serious”
said Dickie Sparrow in dismay.
Jim and Dickie then flew off to see
what it was naughty magpie had done,
he was sitting in court before a judge
and it didn’t look like much fun.
“Mr Magpie Bird, how do you plead,
have you really stolen something?”
“Yes I have and I am very sorry,
it was only some foil for my wing.”
“Foil for your wing you foolish bird,
how silly that would make you look.”
“Well my feathers are very dowdy,
and I wanted to impress Rosie Rook”
Dickie heaved a tweet of relief
when his friend Magpie wasn’t fined,
Jim laughed some of his tail feathers off
and Rosie said he wasn’t very kind.
(c) Stella Armour 2012
one from the Dickie Sparrow collection