Saving the Birds
Inspirational Story
One day
in spring, four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men
were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court.
There had
been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping from the trees,
and the grass was wet.
The four
lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was narrow, and the mud
on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked and laughed and were
very jolly.
As they
were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great fluttering over
their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the roadside.
"Stith!
stitch! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.
"Cheep!
cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.
"What
is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed.
"Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose name
was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest.
They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about
it."
"What
a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose
name I forget.
"Oh,
well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should we
bother?"
"Yes,
why should we?" said Mr. Speed.
The three
men, as they passed, looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the
cold, wet grass. They saw the mother robin flying about, and crying to her
mate.
Then they
rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about
the birds.
But the
fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his
horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands.
They did
not seem frightened, but chirped softly, as if they knew they were safe.
"Never
mind, my little fellows," said Mr. Lincoln "I will put you in your
own cozy little bed."
Then he
looked up to find the nest from which they had fallen. It was high, much higher
than he could reach.
But Mr.
Lincoln could climb. He had climbed many a tree when he was a boy. He put the
birds softly, one by one, into their warm little home. Two other baby birds
were there, that had not fallen out. All cuddled down together and were very
happy.
Soon the
three lawyers who had ridden ahead stopped at a spring to give their horses
water.
"Where
is Lincoln?" asked one.
All were
surprised to find that he was not with them.
"Do
you remember those birds?" said Mr. Speed. "Very likely he has
stopped to take care of them."
In a few
minutes Mr. Lincoln joined them. His shoes were covered with mud; he had torn
his coat on the thorny tree.
"Hello,
Abraham!" said Mr. Hardin. "Where have you been?"
"I
stopped a minute to give those birds to their mother," he answered.
"Well,
we always thought you were a hero," said Mr. Speed. "Now we know
it."
Then all
three of them laughed heartily. They thought it so foolish that a strong man
should take so much trouble just for some worthless young birds.
"Gentlemen,"
said Mr. Lincoln, "I could not have slept to-night, if I had left those
helpless little robins to perish in the wet grass."
Abraham
Lincoln afterwards became very famous as a lawyer and statesman. He was elected
president. Next to Washington, he was the greatest American.
With affection,
Ruben
