you cannot always surely tell
if things be ill or things be well.
when the poor suffering, wounded little bob white crawled under the fence he didn't know it, but he had crawled on to the land of farmer brown, where a sign warned all hunters to keep off—that no shooting would be allowed there. and when he looked up and saw right in front of him one of those two-legged creatures like the one with the terrible fire-stick, and at once had given up all hope, he had been too sick at heart and suffering too much to recognize farmer brown's boy.
but that is just who it was. you see, farmer brown's boy had been so anxious for fear that some hunter would come over on his father's land in spite of the signs, that he had gone down on the green meadows just as soon as he had eaten his breakfast. he had seen the hunter on the land of farmer jones and had heard him shoot. with all his heart farmer brown's boy had hoped that the hunter had missed. now as he looked down and saw the poor little suffering bird he knew that the hunter had not missed, and fierce anger swelled his heart. he quite forgot that he himself used to hunt with a terrible gun before he had learned to know and to love the little people of the green meadows, the green forest and the old pasture.
he stooped and very tenderly lifted the little bob white, who closed his eyes and was sure that now all would soon be over.
“you poor little thing! you poor, poor little thing!” said farmer brown's boy as he looked at the torn and broken wing. then he looked across at the hunter and scowled savagely. just then the hunter saw him and at once started towards him. you see, the hunter thought that perhaps if he offered farmer brown's boy money he would allow him to hunt on farmer brown's land. he knew that was where bob white and all his family had flown to. when he reached the fence, he saw the little bob white in the hands of farmer brown's boy.
“hello!” exclaimed the hunter in surprise, “i guess that's my bird!”
“i guess it's nothing of the sort!” retorted farmer brown's boy.
“oh, yes, it is,” replied the hunter. “i shot it a little while ago, but it got away from me. i'll thank you to hand it over to me, young man.”
“you'll do nothing of the sort,” retorted farmer brown's boy. “it may be the bird you shot, more shame to you, but it isn't yours; it's mine. i found it on our land, and it belongs to me if it belongs to any one.”
now the hunter was tempted to reply sharply, but remembering that he wanted to get this boy's permission to hunt on farmer brown's land, he bit the angry reply off short and said instead, “why don't you wring its neck? if you'll get your father to let me shoot on your land, i'll kill another for you, and then you will have a fine dinner.”
farmer brown's boy grew red in the face. “don't you dare put your foot on this side of the fence!” he cried. “i'd have you to know that these bob whites are my very best friends. they've worked for me all summer long, and do you suppose i'm going to let any harm come to them now if i can help it? not much! look how this poor little thing is suffering. and you call it sport. bah! the law lets you hunt them, but it's a bad law. it's a horrid law. if they did any harm it would be different. but instead of doing harm they work for us all summer long, and then when the crops which they have helped us save are harvested, we turn around and allow them to be shot! but they can't be shot on this land, and the sooner you get away the better i'll like it.”
instead of getting angry the hunter laughed good-naturedly. “all right, i'll keep off your land, sonny,” said he. “but you needn't get so excited. they're only birds, and were made to be shot.”
“no more than you were!” retorted farmer brown's boy. “and they've got feelings just as you have. this poor little thing is trembling like a leaf in my hand. i'm not going to wring its neck. i'm going to try to cure it.” with this fanner brown's boy turned his back on the hunter and started for home. and the poor little bob white, not understanding, had no more hope than before.
