Evening star., 1937-07-21

Old Mother Nature.
THERE are many lazy people in this
world OF ours Were it not so We
would have fewer problems to face
There are. and regret to say it. many
quite willing to sit around, doing
nothing, just as long as others will
support them. The worst of it is that
after while many of them appear to
think that it is their right to demand
that others take care of them. They
have lost their independence, and
often seem unaware of this fact
In the Old Orchard were three Of
Sally Sly's children, true to their in
heritance of laziness. You know,
Sally Sly the CoWbird often is called
the Lazybird. She lays her eggs in
the nests of other birds and leaves
1t wholly to the latter to take care of
her babies when they arrive. This
would be bad enough were it only
matter Of sharing equally with their
foster brothers and sisters the food
and care so freely given by the par
ents OF the latter. But the CoWbird
children are not satisfied with this.
They early discover that they are
bigger and stronger than the others
in the nest and can take for them
selves the larger share of the food.
When they leave the nest they bully
and tease their foster parents into
feeding them long after they should
be working for their own food. They
don't want to work. They are too lazy
to work. It is lot easier to have
others feed them. So long after they
are old enough to be taking care of
themselves they cry and demand to
be fed, even though they may be half
again or double the size Of the over
worked and tender hearted little
feathered foster parents who Matched
them out and have cared for them
SO patiently
In the case of the young Cowbird
who had been imposing on Chippy
the Chipping Sparrow and Mrs.
Chippy especially the latter. Scrapper
the Kingbird had lost patience and
had sent the young Cowbird flying in
terror from the Old Orchard.
Welcome Robin had seen the affair.
1t gave him an idea. Why not drive
the other young Cowbirds from the
Old Orchard? He watched Mr. and
Mrs. Sparrow being bullied and brow
beaten by one of the young frauds,
and Zee Zee the Redstart and his
little mate working themselves to
mere shadows to feed the other. Then
he hunted up Goldie the Oriole and
Kitty the Catbird and Sammy Jay
and suggested that they put an end
to welfare in the Old Orchard.
1T isn't needed any longer" said
Welcome. Those youngsters are
quite able to look out for themselves.
d. In fact, they have been for some time.
They know it. too But they are going
to take all they can get as long as
they can get it without working for
1t. They are ungrateful frauds and
imposters and the sooner the Old
Orchard is rid of them the better"
I'll tell you what the matter with
them is" said Kitty the Catbird.
They are spoiled. That is what is
the trouble. I've noticed it before.
The more you do for some folks the
more they expect and finally demand.
Helping some people really is no
kindness at all After a while they
get to considering = kindness as a
right. They do nothing for other
people, but demand everything for
themselves What such people need
is to be forced to do for themselves.
They will If they have to. I am with
you for driving those Cowbirds out
of the Old Orchard. They are their
mothers own children"
There is Zee Zee the Redstart
feeding one of them now" interrupted
Goldie the Oriole. You can't tell me
that he is doing it because he wants
to. He is doing it because he is 80
much smaller that he doesn't dare re-
fuse Now is our chance. Come on!"
The young Cowbird saw the birds
coming and something inside her
warned her that she would be better
VA II oAAO oilOSAo ACPoA " 0Aiu w ~ IA
hurry. She did. She didn't stop
even to snatch the worm that Zee Zee
had brought her. She suddenly had
great desire to be elsewhere, and
she left the Old Orchard without 50
much as saying farewell to the foster
parents who had worked themselves
almost to skin and bones for her.
Later that day the other young
Cowbird was discovered, and also de-
parted in a hurry. Thus was welfare
brought to an end in the Old Orchard,
while over in the Old Pasture three
young Cowbirds found that they must
work or 90 hungry. and they didn't
like going hungry. They didn',
have to. Copyright, 1879