CHAPTEE II. 
BIRDS AND THEIR FRIENDS. 
“ He prayetk well, who loveth well, 
Both man and bird and beast; 
He prayetli best, who loveth best, 
All things both great and small: 
For the dear God who loveth us, 
He made and loveth all.” 
Coleridge . 
The world-known legend is told in every language 
under the sun; ’tis this :—There once was a time when 
birds and other animals lived together in peace with 
man; a time when they possessed a common language 
without the aid of poetry. Those halcyon days have long 
since passed away, and the secret bond of friendship has 
been broken! 
And yet, happily, not quite ! We are still visited by 
the Stork, who takes up its abode amongst us, as each 
spring comes round. Every year the Swallow returns 
from its, as yet, undiscovered winter refuge to its old 
house, which is placed among the rafters of a human 
habitation, and under man’s protection. The Starling 
does not limit its association with man to the time when 
it returns from its journey, but is equally intimate during 
the winter’s inhospitable reign. When the sun’s rays 
gain strength, Wagtails and Redstarts appear; when the 
trees begin to bud, then come the Willow Wren and 
