BY THE WAYSIDE 
51 
Finch? Where are your beautiful feath¬ 
ers ? Surely you have not had a struggle 
and escaped from some wild beast?” 
“I have had no struggle only with my¬ 
self. It is all the work of my own hands.” 
“I am ashamed to present you to my 
friends, who are spending a few weeks 
with me, without your usual neatly ar¬ 
ranged toilet. Please explain your 
strange appearance.” 
“You had far better be ashamed of your 
own gaudy feathers and pluck them out 
likewise.” 
“Ashamed of what God gave me to 
wear? Is that the cause of your ragged 
condition? Really, I am astonished ! If 
you were borrowing them from some 
other creature, then you would have cause 
to be ashamed. No, you will never see 
me do such a wicked and foolish thing.” 
“You might not call it foolish, Mr. 
Oriole, if you should lose your precious 
life by not taking my advice.” 
“My life? You talk in riddles! Who 
will take my life because I don’t proceed 
to pull out my much admired feathers? 
Surely you are not sane.” 
“Listen to me, friend. There is danger 
in the very air we breathe. Look down 
yonder valley. Do you not see those 
three objects approaching us so slyly?” 
“I do; they are those creatures that we 
aid so much during our summer life by 
keeping insects and worms from destroy¬ 
ing their grain and fruit and from killing 
their trees.” 
“Yes and how do they repay us?” Only 
by killing us to get our feathers to adorn 
their ugly persons. I am determined 
that they get no feather of mine.” 
“Well, 'I am astonished that they 
should be so ungrateful after all we do 
for them. I never imagined there was 
any danger. To be sure I always try to 
keep out of their way, but I was vain 
enough to believe that they love to hear 
my sweet songs, for they often come out 
to listen when I am singing. Well, what 
is to be done? For my part I don’t 
know.” 
“Let us have a meeting and call all the 
birds of the neighborhood together and 
petition to those men for peace.” 
“Yes, perhaps that will call them to 
reason.” 
“It surely will, for did they not hold a 
Peace Conference some time ago and call 
all the dignitaries together in order to try 
to stop so much bloodshed on account 
of disputes between nations, although 
they did not come to any understanding 
among themselves, still they may listen 
to our petition.” 
Thereupon Messrs. Goldfinch and Ori¬ 
ole and Mrs. Wren bestirred themselves, 
and in a few hours representatives of all 
the different flocks in the vicinity were 
assembled, but looking very depressed, 
with their fine feathers laying as close to 
their little bodies as it was possible to 
draw them. 
Mr. Owl, on account of his great wis¬ 
dom and good judgment more than his 
good eyesight or fine feathers, was unani¬ 
mously elected chairman of the meeting. 
Mr. Goldfinch, although he did not 
present a very tidy appearance, but as he 
was one of the originators of the gather¬ 
ing, was duly elected secretary. 
Mrs. Wren, as she seemed to have no¬ 
ticed or heard more about the cruel prac¬ 
tice, having spent the season in a secluded 
nook in an old apple tree near the farm¬ 
house, was the first speaker and likewise 
introduced and explained the subject. 
She was listened to eagerly by all ex¬ 
cept, young Nuthatch, who was now and 
Continued on 'page 55. 
