a pity 'tis, aye, 'tis a shame
that rests on all mankind,
that human beings in cruelty
can sport and pleasure find.
there never was a more beautiful day than that crisp october one. it was one of those days when you just feel all over how good it is to be alive. bob white felt it. he tingled all over with the joy of living just as soon as he opened his eyes very early that morning. he whistled for very joy. he loved all the great world, and he felt that all the great world loved him. he wanted to tell the great world so. the merry little breezes of old mother west wind, tumbling out of the big bag in which she had brought them down from the purple hills to play all day long on the green meadows, danced over to tell him that they loved him. this made bob still happier.
a certain man tramping along the road toward the home of farmer jones was feeling glad, but his gladness was of a different kind. “i guess we are going to have some sport, old fellow,” said he to the dog trotting at his heels, and shifted a terrible gun from one shoulder to the other.
now if bob white had understood the warning given him by farmer brown's boy he never, never would have done as he did. but he didn't understand that warning, and so when he took it into his pretty little head that he wanted to try his wings he led his family straight over to the land of farmer jones. he often had been there before, and he saw no reason why he shouldn't go there as often as he pleased. no harm had come from these previous visits. so straight over to the stubble of farmer jones' wheat-field he led the way, and soon he and his family were very busy picking up scattered grains of wheat and were happy as you or i would be over a good breakfast.
right in the midst of it bob's quick ears heard footsteps. he stretched his neck to peep over the stubble, and suddenly all the gladness and brightness of the day was blotted out. what he saw was a dog with his nose to the ground and he was following the scent that one of bob's children made as he ran about picking up wheat. suddenly the dog stopped and stood perfectly still, with one foreleg and nose pointing straight at a certain spot. bob knew that right at that spot one of his children was squatting close to the ground. as still as a statue stood the dog. from behind him came a man walking slowly and carefully and with a terrible gun held in readiness. when he reached the dog he sent him on. there was nothing for the bob white squatting there to do but fly. up into the air he shot on swift wings.
“bang!” went the terrible gun, and down dropped that little brown bird. at the sound of the terrible gun up jumped all the rest of bob white's children in terrible fright, for never before had they heard such a dreadful noise. “bang!” went the gun again, but this time only a few brown feathers floated to the ground. bob and mrs. bob waited until after the second bang before they too took to the air, for they had had experience and knew that after the second bang they were likely to be safe for a while.
the bob whites had scattered in all directions as they had been taught to do when in danger. bob flew straight over to farmer brown's wheat-field, and there presently he began to call. one after another of his family answered, all but the one who had fallen at the first shot.
“got one, anyway,” said the hunter, as he loaded his terrible gun, and actually looked happy as he went over to help his dog hunt for the bob white who had fallen at the first terrible bang.
