if BEATHERS WERE WORTHLESS 213 
Then you might say that a nice, bright smile was 
worth half-a-crown. But I think it is worth much 
more where it is, in your face, though you cannot 
take it out and get half-a-crown for it. 
Smiles are not bought for money in shat way, but 
you must remember that what is not worth money 
is often worth much better things. That is why 
I wish the feathers of the poor White Egrets were 
not worth even a penny. If they were not, then, 
if you were to go to the countries where they live, 
you would see those feathers on the birds themselves, 
where they look most beautiful, and you could watch 
the birds (with the feathers on them) flying through 
the air, or perched in trees, or walking about in the 
water and catching fish in it, or building their nests, or 
feeding their young, or doing all sorts of other inte- 
resting and amusing things. And they would not be 
so rare then; in fact they would be quite common, 
so that you would not have to go into such out-of- 
the-way places—yes, and such unhealthy places too— 
in order to see them. No, they would be all about, 
so that they would often come to see you, instead of 
your going to see shem; sometimes, even, they might 
come into your garden—for why should you not 
have a garden in another country ?>—and walk about 
on the lawn. Think how interesting that would 
be, and how pretty it would look !—and all because 
