A BIRD STORY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 643, 14 February 1914, Page 7

A BIRD STORY.

A '"Spectator" correspcmlent de. scribes the following incident in h?r garden : "We feed the birds anl always have water for them, anl lately a poor maimed rook has b: n coming with the others. He ha? lost one leg altogether, and the ether hangs limp and useless, without any foot. The poor thing was on thri lawn with three others. Tho ttr.EC all drank, a nd. two of th:m f'e.v a "a". The one that remained stood lefore the cripple and bowed several tiir.cs till his head nearly touched tho ground, then he walked all ro.nl him, as if conaideriug what to do. Then, with a sudden drjtcrminat'on, he carefully put his win; m'cr en?, of the cripple's win; 3 and d"a g"d and supported him to the water. ';.! c basin is rather high, so vh n rlny reached it he gave an extra t"n tu 'aft him up, and after fil'.ing li:o n beak, and dropping water into h'.3 friend's mouth, as if to rho v \ h:ro the water was, the invalid was abb to reach it for himself. This happened two days ago, and a memi cr of the family who observed the i iru:; a great deal thinks that the real i-cd bird is a hen, and that the (hi.T.lrous friend is her mate, bet a .se next to one of the n:sts a large re ok is constantly perching, and he is seen to feed the inmate. But water he cannot bring, and for that ehe must come down. But whether ha is a husband or friend, he shows de.o tion and intelligence." BUT A QUESTION OF SEX. "What is the difference between £r;uness and obstinacy ?" asked a yo'.n:j lady of her fiancee. "Firmness," was his gallant reply, 'is a noble characteristic in women ; obstinacy is a lamentable delect in men." "Look a t me !" exclaimed the leading lawyer, warmly. "I never took a "drop of medicine in my life, and I'm as strong as any two of your patients put together." "Well, that's nothing," retorted the physician. "I never went to law in my life, and I'm as rich as any two dozen of your clients put together." Tommy's Aunt : "Won't you have another piece of cake, Tommy?" Tommy (on a'visit) : * ; No, I thank you." Tommy's Aunt : " ; Yo-' seem to be suffering from 10.-s of appetite." Tomn; : ' r lhci f . ain't loss of appetite, i V. hat I'm su!"c;-:n' from is Politeness."