On Keeping Still 



myself, each one seeking the joy of life in his own 

 happy way. My only regret was that I was too 

 clumsy, too obtrusive, too ignorant of the way of 

 the wild, and so frightened many a timid bird or 

 beast that I would gladly have known. 



All this, too, is perfectly natural ; the instinctive 

 attitude of a child, as of an animal, is one of 

 curiosity rather than of fear or destruction. If 

 left to his natural instincts, a child meets every 

 living creature with a mixture of shyness or timid- 

 ity and bright interest; he becomes an enemy of 

 the wild, learning to frighten and harry and kill, 

 not from nature but from the evil example of his 

 elders. I could prove that beyond a peradvent- 

 ure, I think, if this were the place; but there is 

 no need of any man's demonstration. Go your- 

 self to the big woods at twilight, leaving custom 

 behind you; go alone and unarmed; hear that 

 rustle of leaves, that tread of soft feet which 

 brings you to an instant halt; see that strange 

 beast which glides out into the trail and turns to 

 look at you with luminous eyes. Then quickly ex- 

 amine your own mental state, and you will know 

 the truth of a man's natural or instinctive attitude 

 toward the mystery of life. 



Unfortunately the wild birds and beasts near 

 our home have learned that man is unnatural, a 

 creature to be feared, and their curiosity has given 



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