6 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS 
whole world—that I am going to tell you; but all 
the while I am telling you, you must remember that 
they—these very beautiful birds—do not sing, whilst 
our birds—the insignificant-looking ones—do. So 
you must not think poorly of our birds because their 
colours are plain or even dingy—lI mean in comparison 
with these other ones—for if they have not the great 
beauty of plumage, they have the great beauty of song. 
And perhaps you would not so very much mind grow- 
ing up plain, like a lark or a nightingale (which would 
not be so very, very plain), if you could sig like a 
lark or a nightingale—as perhaps one day you will. 
Indeed, I sometimes wish that those very beautiful 
birds were not quite so beautiful] as they are. You 
will think that a funny wish to have, but there is a 
sensible reason for it, which I will explain to you. 
Perhaps if they were not quite so beautiful, not quite 
so many of them would be killed. For, strange as it 
may seem to you—and I know it wz// seem strange— 
it is just because the birds ave beautiful that hundreds 
and hundreds, yes, and thousands and thousands, of 
them are being killed every day. Yes, it is quite true. 
I-wish it were not, but [am sorry to’ say it ic 
People kill the birds Jecause they are beautiful. But 
is not that cruel? Yes, indeed it is, very, very cruel. 
It is cruel for two reasons: first, because to kill them 
gives them pain; and secondly, because their life is so 
