THE CROW FAMILY 119 
had come. A new grub that they had never seen 
before was on hand. There were millions of 
them, and they were always hungry. Young 
corn plants seemed to suit them, and when corn 
was gone, they began eating the grass. 
It never came into the farmers’ heads that the 
birds had anything to do with the grubs. So 
they kept up their war on the crows till few were 
left. 
It’s easier to drive away birds than insects, so 
the grubs went on eating. There were no crows 
left to trouble, and yet the crops got smaller 
every year. At last some one had sense enough 
to see that the crows had come on purpose to eat 
the grubs, and that they had driven away their 
best friends, the most useful helpers they could 
possibly have. 
When they saw how stupid they had been, 
they began to coax the birds back. They sent 
out and had crows caught and brought to their 
fields to work for them. The birds took hold of 
the business, and made short work of the corn- 
eating grub, and the farmers learned a good 
lesson. 
You may think it strange that the crows 
should know where the grubs were, but birds 
are very sharp to find their food. It is well 
known that when there gets to be an unusual 
