The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-09-13
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4 FAIRY TALE
ABUSED CROW.
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ut makes me pretty angry at times,
said Charlie Crow.
"What makes you angry? cav
Cav. Cav, what makes you angry
asked Mrs. Charlie Crow.
1.-THE farmers make me angry. 1helr
lack of appreciation of me makes me
feel terribly. Oh, it is beyond words
at times, to tell how sad l feel. Ana
Charlie Crow wept a tear which fell
on his handsome black coat.
.Poor Charlie" said Mrs. Grow. My
poor child. Charlie"
For when he was feeling sad ana
mournful Mrs. Crow always treated
him as though he were a chlld GRO"
instead of a grown-up Mr.. Crow.
"And they still put the scarecrows
In their fields. They still do"
"You mean those creatures made out
of sticks and things, which are dressed
ND like men with guns, eh?' asked
Mrs. Crow. :,
Eyes. they are called scarecroWs'
said Charlie. ''They are put In the
fields to scare away the crows ana
that is why they have such a name
you see-scarecrows, or Let Us
scare the crows"
"Ah. that is a sad and sorry tale
said Mrs. Grow. ITO think OF farm
ers still putting those scarecrows IN
the fields. Why, they actually Keep
many, many crows away. We under
stand them. We know they are only
make-belieye men and that they carry
only make-believe guns. But it's not
kind of the farmers to try to fI1shten
Us away. We are really srch soou
friends of the farmers"
"That's So" said Charlie; that IS
where the sad part of it comes in. on
dear, oh, DEAR" and poor Mr.. Charlie
Grow wept another bitter tear, which
made his black coat quite wet.
Mrs. Charlie Grow took her maple
leaf handkerchief which Mr.. Grow had
given her on her last birthday (she
had birthdays very often, so as to get
lots of presently, and wiped the wet
SPOT which had been made by the
tear.
"Don't weep, Mr.. Grow. Don't weep,
Charlie, old boy. Nothing is SO bad
that It mightn't be worse. I've heard
wise people say
sAh, that's so, suppose" said
Charlie. "But I can't think of any
thing that could be worse than the
lack of appreciation which the farmers
show me.
1T is true, we do steal the grain
and the corn. We love corn-all crows
do. And many of us are thieres-in
fact, most of us are thieves, believe.
But we must eat and we must live,
and II we can't go to the markets and
put down pennies and nickels and
dimes for our food. we just have to
take 1t as we can.
1--WE can't shop like people. We
have no money, no pocketbooks, no
bank accounts The squirrels have
savings banks where they save nuts,
like children save their pennies. But
we are without all these things"
1--WE are without all of them"
agreed Mrs. Crow. "And it is most in
sulting for the farmers to put scare
crows in the fields, and it is still more
hard-hearted of them to let US think
for moment that they would have
guns fired off at us-that's what they
try to make us think.
eyes, it's hard. very, very hard" she
said.
"And though I will admit that our
family does steal and that we do rob
the farmers of some goodies-still, the
harm we do doesn't half come up to
the good we do. We eat the grubs and
different kinds of worms which would
destroy the corn, and we really save
the crops for the farmers, many and
many time" said Charlie.
ayes" said Mrs. Grow, 'the harm
we do is little. The good we do
amounts to a great deal. But, Charlie,
don't be sad or insulted, for things
might b. so much worse. You are
alive and well. You have a loving
mate and a fine brood of children.
"You have good strong wings, and
your handsome black suit: you have
your eyesight and your voice.
whenever you ger discouraged,
think of the creatures who have real
trOubles-whO are sick and miserable
and who actually suffer-
''That's So" said Charlie, my trou-
bles are very few compared to what
some creatures have to put up with.
But do wish / ccu:d tel the farmers
that ] do try to do all l can to help
them--even if they think ii is imposSi-
BILE for me to have anything good
about me-"
"Sooner or later n II Elow and
thank u.s." said Mrs Gil; CIV.