50 THE ROMANCE OF EVERIFARM 



the laws and customs of the bird world that were 

 established many, many years ago. There is a 

 legend, so I am informed, that such a meeting as 

 this was held at the beginning of the world, which 

 every kind of bird attended. At that meeting a 

 certain duty was given to each bird ; each had his cer- 

 tain kind of work to perform. There was a reason 

 for it. 



"Man was created in the image of God Himself 

 and placed in a beautiful garden with the birds, ani- 

 mals, and flowers, and with everything beautiful and 

 harmonious. But it was not long before Man al- 

 lowed sin to creep into the garden and into his life, 

 and from that day Man has had his troubles, his 

 worries, and his enemies. The enemies embraced 

 many things, but some of the most troublesome were 

 the injurious insects that came at the time Man was 

 driven from the garden. It was then that the great 

 meeting was held, at which each bird was given a 

 duty to perform which would lessen the burden of 

 Man. The duty that was assigned and the task that 

 each bird assumed at that memorable meeting is 

 the same to-day as then, thousands of years ago, 

 and each year for the benefit of the young birds who 

 were bom only the previous year, a meeting like 

 this is held, to impress upon them the importance of 



