INTRODUCTION 



ONE June day a flutter of wings 

 was heard on the ground beside 

 the barn. Here the Neighbour found 

 a young swallow beating the imped- 

 ing grass with ineffectual strokes. 

 From its nest beneath the eaves it had 

 gazed out upon a world of green fields 

 flooded with Summer sunshine and, 

 under the sudden impulse to follow its 

 kind, spread its untried wings only to 

 fall helpless to the ground. The Neigh- 

 bour, under protests from its many 

 friends, tossed it upward toward the 

 security of the barn roof. Finding 

 itself free from the tangled grass and 

 strengthened by its efforts, it caught 

 the wind and sped away across the 

 flelds, encouraged by rejoicing kindred 

 wildly diving about it in a mad ecstacy 

 of delight. 



In presenting these observations and 

 impressions as his flrst literary ven- 

 ture, the author feels not unlike the 

 young swallow trying his wings for the 

 first time, but hopes the reader not only 

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