Show TALE OF BIRDS DEVOTION Stories of affection and apparent reason among wild animals havo divided di-vided the naturewriters Into two schools Ono believes that animals act merely from instinct the other holds that tho dumb brute feels and reasons In Tho Life of a Scotch Naturalist M Smiles quotes from the journal of Thomas Edward the story of how a little flock of terns rescued a wounded companion which tho naturalist had shot I fired and he camo down with a broken wing screaming as ho fell into in-to tho water The report of the gun together with his cries brought together to-gether the party ho had left in order that they might ascertain the cause of tho alarm After surveying their wounded brother round and round as ho was drifting unwittingly toward the shore with tho flowing tide they came flyIng fly-Ing In a body to the spot where I stood and rent the air with their screams These thoy continued to utter ut-ter regardless of their own Individual safety until I began to make preparations prepar-ations for receiving the approaching bird I could already see that it was a beautiful adult specimen and I expected ex-pected In a few moments to havo it in my possession slnco I was not very far from the waters edge While matters wero in this position I beheld to my utter astonishment two of the unwounded terns take hold of their disabled comrade one at each wing lift him out of the water and bear him out ueawnnl They wero followed by two other birds After having carried him about six or seven yards they let him gently down again and tho two who had hitherto hith-erto been Inactive took him up In this way thoy continued to carry him alternately until thoy had convoyed con-voyed him to B rock at a considerable distance upon which thoy landed him in safety |