CHAPTER X 



BIEDS 



A Story. A certain beautiful poem tells this 

 story. Once upon a time the farmers of Killing- 

 worth were troubled and angry, because the birds 

 ate so much of their fruit and grain. So they held 

 a town meeting and ordered every bird killed. Only 

 one man, the village teacher, pleaded for the birds. 

 He said it would be lone- 

 ly without their cheerful 

 songs. He reminded the 

 farmers of the many in- 

 sects which the birds de- 

 voured. He told them that 

 the few cherries and the 

 small measure of grain 

 the birds ate were only 

 just wages for the hard 

 work they did in protect- 

 ing the farmers' crops 

 from worms and bugs. 

 But the farmers did not 

 heed his warning. The 

 parent birds were shot 

 and the little ones 

 starved in their nests. 

 For one long summer 



77 



Fig. 48. The Red- 1 1 ecu led Wood- 

 pecker, an enemy of tree 

 insects and a friend of 

 the farmer. 



