66 BEAUTIFUL? BIRDS 
watching the Bird of Paradise all the time, just pulls 
the cord, and down he comes as well as the stick. 
You see he cannot fly very well with the stick 
fastened to him, and, however much he tries to, it is 
no use, for the black man has only to keep pulling 
the string. 
That is how the poor Red Bird of Paradise is caught, 
and as soon as he has caught him the black frizzly- 
haired man kills him and skins him—TI need hardly 
tell you that he does that, for you know in whose ser- 
vice he ts. Then the black man takes the skin to 
a yellow man, who buys it of him and cheats him 
a little, and the yellow man takes it to a white: man 
who buys it of Aim and cheats Aim more, and it all 
happens just the same as it did with the Great Bird of 
Paradise, until the skin is lying on the floor of the 
warehouse, with all those other beautiful skins of poor 
beautiful birds—all killed to be put into the hats of 
women whose hearts the wicked little demon has 
frozen. Is it not shocking? But you know how to 
stop it. You have only to make your mother 
promise—yes, promise—never to wear a hat that has 
the skin or any of the feathers of a Red Bird of 
Paradise init. Make her promise this before reading 
the next chapter. 
