4 OUR HOME PETS 



bird refused to be left in the park, but flew 

 back several times and alighted on its owners, 

 and they actually had to scheme to get away 

 from it. It was told as a self-sacrificing and 

 virtuous deed, when, as a matter of fact, it was 

 undoubtedly pure cruelty, and that bird, ac- 

 customed to care and shelter, probably died 

 of want and exposure. 



Another use of a caged bird, or any captive, 

 that is of great value as I look at it, is the op- 

 portunity it gives for lessons in consideration 

 and care for others, and love and kindness to 

 animals. It has been ascertained by statistics, 

 carefully gathered from training-schools and 

 prisons, that very few men who in boyhood 

 owned or cared for a pet animal, or who were 

 instructed in kindness to the lower orders, are 

 to be found among criminals. This fact, which 

 should not astonish us when we think of the 

 elevating tendency of unselfishness, puts into 

 the hands of parents and teachers a powerful 

 weapon for good. Not only does the pet bird 

 or beast entertain and amuse the boy, but, 

 under proper direction, it trains him in gentle 

 ways, in a sense of justice, and it goes far to 

 insure an honest life. 



