200 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS 
drawing-room. So, when the poor Argus Pheasant 
comes into his drawing-room, he sees something lying 
on the floor, which has no business to be there. It 
may be only a ribbon, but that is not the right place 
for it, so he tries to pick it up and throw it outside. 
But it won't come, however much he pulls it, for the 
peg at the end is fixed in the ground, and he is not 
strong enough to pull it out. At last he gets angry 
and thinks he will make a great effort. He twists 
the long ribbon round and round his neck—yjust as 
you would twist a piece of string round and round 
your hand if you were going to pull it hard—then 
takes hold of it with his beak, just above the 
ground, and gives quite a tremendous spring back- 
wards. You may guess what happens. The long 
peg does not come out of the ground, but the 
ribbon is drawn quite tight round the poor bird’s 
own neck, and the sharp edges almost cut his 
head off. 
Now is not ‘hat a most cruel trick to play upon a 
bird who only wants to keep his drawing-room in 
proper order? How would your dear mother like 
to be treated in such a way for being weat and “dy, 
which I am sure she is? But we are going to stop it 
—this cruel trick of the wicked little demon—for it 
was he who thought of it and taught it to the Malays. 
It is not heir fault, you must not be angry with them, 
