Sometimes we find a bird"s nest in the bushes or on the ground. G.o.d teaches the little birds how to build their nests with small sticks, leaves, and feathers.
This is the bird"s house. We sometimes see tiny eggs in the nest. The little eggs hatch, and then there are little birdies in the nest in place of the eggs. The mother bird hunts worms and bugs to feed the little ones.
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Did you ever see a nest of young birds? How they open their little mouths when you come near! They think you have something for them to eat.
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Once a little boy found a meadow-lark"s nest with young birds in it.
As they opened their little mouths, he thought he could feed them better than the mother bird. He decided to raise them for pets, and so carried them home. He fed them bread; but as the little birds were not used to that kind of food, they did not thrive on it; and when one day the boy forgot to feed them, they died. How sad he felt! And how sad the mother bird must have felt when she could not find her babies!
G.o.d made the birds to enjoy the woods and fields. We must not destroy their nests, for that would be wrong.
The Bible says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them."
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A Bird of the Night
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Did you ever see an owl? Owls fly around at night, as they can see better after dark than in the daytime. They stay in some dark and quiet spot all day, unless disturbed, but at night they hunt around for something to eat. They eat some kinds of birds, rats, mice, fish, reptiles, and insects.
The nest of the owl is made of sticks and twigs, and is oftentimes built in rocks or ruins or old houses.
Some owls are as white as snow, and their feathers are as soft as cotton. Some are brown, and others are gray.
Sometimes in the night we hear their noise, which sounds much as if they were saying, "Who? who? who?"
The owl can not turn his eyes about as we can; so when he wants to look around, he must turn his head.
In the cold countries where snow stays upon the ground most of the time, there are owls with pure-white feathers. They are very large, too; yet they can hardly be seen, since they look so much like the snow.
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Our Tame Birds
Chickens and ducks and geese are birds, too. But they are tame and stay where people do. They do not fly like the little birds, but they stay around the barnyard and lay eggs for us to eat.
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Ducks and geese love to swim in the water. Both the big and the little ones can swim, but chickens can not.
The old mother hen sometimes has many little chicks running around her. They stay pretty close, because they are afraid that something might harm them.
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Chicks are sometimes caught by hawks, which fly around watching for them. In the picture we see a dog driving a hawk away from the old hen and chickens. Don"t you think he is a good dog?
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A farmer had a dog whose name was Ring. Even though he was asleep, if a chicken gave the note of alarm, he would jump up and bark at once.
Then he would run after the hawk and drive it away.
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When lying quiet it was amusing to see how quickly he would jump up and bark when any one would say, "Hawk!"
Wee Pretty Kitty
"Wee pretty kitty, With nothing to do, Only to take Little naps in a shoe.
You look very nice While lying in there, With never a thought Of sorrow or care.
Yet I am so glad That I am not you, For I can love Jesus, Which you can not do."
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Creatures of the Water
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Fishes are queer creatures that live in water. Men catch them with hooks and lines or nets and use them for food.
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