The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-06
HIS WALKING LESSON.
Robin Redbreast Tries to Reform His
Gait for Greedy Reasons.

Gait for Greedy Reasons.
OF course you all know the robin.
Whether you live in the city or country,
he is the only bird, except perhaps intrud-
ing house sparrow, that is sure to come
into your yard IL you have one, or into
the nearest park or garden. If you have
but n square rod of lawn, he is almost
certain to find it out sooner or later and
to visit it in search of earthworms Often
enough you have seen him there, aud
have babe him help himself to the worr g
and welcome. But as you watched aim
gliding over the lawn / wonder q Won
have noticed that the fine fellow has n
thought beyond his hunting, AID that
even while he works, he is @ .ile ayorino m
perfect himself in new eco, nplishment9
Perhaps you have nCo thought of it, vet
it really seems to be- so. The redbreast is
learning to war1k, says a writer in
youths Com paniaN."
For gener ations unnumbered his ances-
tors have .caugka that hopping is the pro-
per and. digniied gait for bird, and even
now ais first cousins, the wood thrush
| ant. the veeSy and the hermit thrush, arc
uncompremising hoppers. But Sir Robin,
having left the ancestral halls-that is to
( say, the woodlands; having taken it upon
himself to be the progressive member of
| a very conser Sative family; having come
into the gardens and orchards where
worms are most abundant; having laid
| aside the traditional russell garb of the
l renowned thrush family and donned a
| trim business suit in keeping with his
| character, is quite ready to accept any
other change either of costume or of GUS
tom that seems likely to rebound to his
advantage. He has noted that certain Of
| his associates, the crow blackbirds In par
tcular, move most sedately over the
ground, placing one foot before the other,
| and thus maintaining a steady and even
gait, quite unlike the jerky, intermittent
| motion necesstated by hopping Now, it
is obvious that one cannot see clearly
while ones head is bobbing up and down,
and that bird which can only hop must
often stop to scan the field, and even then
may pass over some fat prize in the form
of worm or bug, which the walker,
moving steadily, with eyes always in TO
Gus, would discover. Therefore" rea-
sons the robin, walking is better, and I
will walk
But his old habits cannot be laid aside
ut will like old clothes, and it is plain
that the robin is by no means master Of
| the new art as yet. He starts out brave
| ly, rs you will see if you watch him, but
| no sooner are his feet we'll in motion than
| the old instinct asserts itself, and before
he knows 1t he is hopping as squarely as
his most orthodox cousin could desire.
With jerk of his head he RECEIVERS him
self, and takes two or three steps, But
now it is time to stop, as some ri ound
has been passed over unscrutinized. A
sweeping glance disclosing no prey, a
fresh start is made, but the result Is al
ways about the same; while his mind Is
on it, he can walk passably, hut the mo-
ment he strives to look for worms as he
moves-which is the only advantage of
walking-his feet adjust themselves to
the old habit. 1t is exactly as il one of
us were to initiate the gait of some one
who walks lame. We could do it while
we gave 1t our attention, but the mou,ent
we thought of something else, the mask
would fall off, and Mother Habit would
setsour feet going in their natural way.
Perseverance, however, can overcome
many difficulty, and robin Is resolute
| fellow, who will not acknowledge defeat,
| SO that in time he may learn to walk
with the best blackblrd Of them all
| Meanwhile his mixed gait serves his pur.
! pose very we'll, for you cannot watch him
long without seeing him pounce upon
some unlucky earthworm. The unequal
| tug of-war that follows has one inyaria-
BILE result, for if the redbreast has not
learned how to walk very we'll, he at least
knows how much strain worm will bear
without breaking, and applies this knowl-
edge with the skill of long practice.
Thus much 1 had written when on
going for n stroll in Central Park, there
! suddenly fitted before me robin whose
manner and bearing seemed to say,
watch me" He alighted on the ground
/ just ahead, gave his wings and tail de.
termined tlirt, and seeing that my eyes
| were upon him started forward and actu-
ally ran about thirty feet without the
! suspicion OF hop. Then he looked up at
me with an expression thatseemed to say,
Thought we couldn't do 1t, did youy
Well, what do you think now!" and took
another run longer than the first I ap-
| plauded the feat as 1t deserved, and as
| sured the fine fellow that his feat should
be heralded to the world. feel bound to
add that even this advanced student of
the art OF walking paid very little atten
ton to worms while his feet were acting
independently. He certainly walked far
better than supposed 1t was possible for
any robin to do, and his accomplishment
justifies the prediction that the time Is
not lar distant when every robin will do
n square heel and toe" without any diff
Guilty. If this statement sounds improb-
able to you go for a stroll and watch Mas
ter Robin youself; but 1t would be folly
to predict how long 1t may be before his
old-school cousins, the wood thrush. the
veery and others will even attempt to fol-
| low his example.
| DIVINE AFFLATUS AT WASHING