What The Birds Thought Of The Fourth Of July
: Daddy's Bedtime Bird StoriesIt was the day after the Fourth of July, and daddy told the children
that he must surely tell them about the little birds and what they
thought of the wonderful Independence Day.
"Didn't they like it?" asked Evelyn.
"No," said daddy. "They were not so very happy yesterday, but I will
tell you all about it, for it is quite a long story.
"You see, some of the older birds knew wha
They thought it was splendid to belong to such a fine, free country
during all the other days of the year, but on the Fourth of July they
did not feel so patriotic. They would have liked it very much if all the
little boys and girls had sung songs, but the noise of the firecrackers
they thought was most disturbing.
"There were no places where they could go that they didn't find children
with firecrackers. Even in front of the farm-houses the children seemed
to have firecrackers enough to last them for years.
"The old birds decided that if they went way off in the woods for the
day they might get away from all the noise, so they planned to start
before dawn. They went, but at the first place they thought of stopping
and giving a nice little bird concert, they found a picnic party of
children. They waited for a moment until the children unpacked their
baskets. But the goodies were not nearly so numerous as the
firecrackers.
"So the birds moved on again, and again they found a picnic party and
were at a loss what to do.
"The old birds were grumbling and making every one around feel just as
'grumbly' as they were, when a little song sparrow, who had been keeping
very quiet during all the fuss, said:
"'Now, look here, I think it is pretty mean of us to grumble while all
the little boys and girls are having such a good time. It is right for
them to be patriotic, and we should not grumble about the noise they
make one day in the year, when we are singing fit to burst our throats
every morning just at sunrise. Besides, we should be more appreciative,
for we love this free air, and we should feel proud that we can fly
about and enjoy it. And, above everything else, think of the times in
the spring when those little girls and boys threw crumbs to us when it
was chilly, and how often in the hot days of summer we find little
drinking-tins in the trees filled with cool water.'
"And all the birds suddenly thought how perfectly right the song sparrow
was, and they gave their concert, pretending that the big cannon
crackers were huge chords of music accompanying their solos and
choruses."
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