sandhills where insects are plenty and en- 

 emies are few. We spend hours in bask- 

 ing in the delightfully hot sun, and if any 

 noise alarms us dart to our hiding places 

 beneath the roots of the bushes or under 

 some rotten log or tree. We are of sev- 

 eral colors, gray, green, yellow or brown, 

 and when we lie still upon the sand or on 

 logs or under leaves .it is hard for any 

 beast or bird or man to see us. We may 

 have few blessings, as the world goes, 

 but we at least have nothing of which to 

 complain." 



The prairie chickens were next called 

 upon for an account of themselves, and 

 answered : 



"We are the sole representatives of the 

 great coveys of birds of our kind that 

 used to make their homes upon these 

 prairies. Their drumming could be heard 

 within the thickets, and the swift whir- 

 ring of their brown wings as they beat 

 the air in their diagonal flight. Life was 

 a pleasure to prairie chickens in those 

 good old days before we were born. 



"Now it is different. Men learned to 

 consider our flesh a delicacy and hunted 

 us down. They even grudged us the 

 grain that we gathered from their broad 

 wheat and corn fields and treated us as 

 common robbers. Now only a few of us 

 are left, and we dare not call our lives 

 our own. We have learned to be very 

 shy and to hide in the most solitary places. 

 Still, life is not all trouble. The winters 

 in Kansas are short and usually mild, 

 there are plenty of good warm thickets 

 and hedges, and there is always plenty 

 for birds to eat, unless the snow is un- 

 commonly heavy. So we manage to be 

 happy and take each day as it comes." 



The quails trooped forward as the 

 prairie-chickens ceased speaking. 



"We are the farmer's friends," said 

 they, "and therefore the farmer is 

 friendly to us. We eat the bugs and 

 worms that would destroy his crop. We 

 take a little of his grain now and then, 

 but we more than repay the damage by 

 our warfare upon the bugs. 



"YVe have been so fortunate as to find 

 a farmer who appreciates us, and will 

 allow no one to shoot us. So our year 

 has been peaceful, and we have been 

 bountifully fed." 



An ungainly toad hopped forward as 

 the quails ceased speaking : 



"I do not look much like a quail, and 

 can neither fly nor run nor sing ; but I 

 also am the farmer's friend, and am al- 

 ways ready to seize my opportunities 

 when they come in the shape of flies and 

 bugs. I may not be beautiful, to some 

 unappreciative eyes, but I am at least 

 useful." 



The birds having selected the chatter- 

 ing jay to speak for them, he raised his 

 voice as follows : 



"My friends desire me to say that our 

 lives are lived above most of the things 

 that annoy the rest of you. Floods and 

 dogs and fences do not trouble us : still, 

 we have dangers enough of our own. 

 There are snakes that climb to our nests 

 and destroy our young. There are 

 prowling cats, and pouncing hawks, and 

 boys with bean-shooters, and men with 

 guns, all of whom are lying in wait for 

 our lives. We are so common and so 

 numerous that men fail to appreciate 

 what we do for them. We make their 

 groves bright by our brilliant plumage, 

 and gay with our cheerful songs. We 

 eat millions of caterpillars and bugs and 

 worms. To be sure, we eat some of the 

 grain and peck the ripest fruit, but then 

 that should be looked upon as our just 

 reward for our labors in men's behalf. 

 Some of us will soon be taking our flight 

 to southern climes, but many of us will 

 remain here in the friendly shelter of 

 the thickets until spring comes again." 



What more the blue jay might have 

 said was cut short by a great crackling 

 of the bushes, which startled all the 

 birds and smaller animals, and caused 

 even the mountain lion to raise his head 

 and sniff suspiciously. 



Their alarm was quieted by the ap- 

 pearance of an old white horse who 

 looked around upon the assembly and 

 asked : 



"What is all this ? How does it come 

 that coyotes and rabbits, birds and liz- 

 ards and insects and lions" — very re- 

 spectfully — "are associating in peace to- 

 gether ?" 



The object of the meeting was ex- 

 plained to him, and he was asked to add 

 his word to the Thanksgiving service. 



"What have I to be thankful for? 

 Look at my bones almost sticking 

 through my skin, my knees strained and 

 my eyes amost blinded by pulling too 



163 



