Show ies I WHERE THE PIGEONS WENT By Thornton W Burgess Bur Who sits In judgment must be beware ware Lest prejudice make him unfair Old Old Mother Nature At first Farmer Browns Brown's Boy Doy sitting on the tho end ot of the shelf shelt on the face ot of the cliff clift where was the home ot of o Killer the Duel Duck Hawk and Mrs Sirs Killer was so de delighted lighted with having reached the nesting place o ot of these rare rarD bIrds and with seeing the baby Duck Hawks that he gave little thought to anything else But Dut presently he be began to examine the sur surroundings to discover It if possIble what these baby Hawks had been fed Almost the first thing he discovered was a pigeon feather feather from one of ot his own pigeons He found a few other pigeon feathers featherson featherson on the shelf beside the young oung There were some blue jay feath feathers ers era and some other oilier feathers that he was not sure about Climbing down he looked on the little ledge Immediately below the shelf shelt where the nest was and there be he found more pigeon feath teath- feathers feathera ers era There was a dark scowl on the face tace ot of Farmer Browns Brown's Do Boy For Fora Fora II a moment he ho was very angry So this Is 15 where my pigeons went to he exclaimed Well Yell I 1 guess youve you've eaten all the pigeons ot of mIne that you ever will eat Now that I 1 am up here Ill I'll just put you OU young Killers out of the wa way and there will be no more killing of my pigeons to feed teed you He lIe climbed back up to the little shelf shelt ot of rock where the three young Duck Hawks were and once more sat down on the ledge ot of the shelf his feet teet dangling oft ocr into space Again there came cameto cameto to him that feeling that he was sitting on the edge of the world And as he sat there a II change came over Wm Ho He lb forgot those young Hawks to feed whom Kill Killer er had taken his pigeons He lie be began gan to dream Of course they were daydreams but sometimes daydreams are quite as wonder wonderful ful tul as sleep dreams LookIng down from the edge ot of the world It seemed to him that the world was his He lie wondered what It would seem like to be able to float oft off Into space looking down on 11 ill the Great World with the treed freedom om of the air all with the tIght to go and come as he pleased It came over oyer him that there Is no freedom like the freedom of ot the eagles and the hawks the free free- freedom dom dorn of ot great heights above e the world And as he dreamed he a change of ot heart Somehow he no DO longer thought of those pigeons ot of his big He Ife began to thInk ot of them much as Killer the Duck Hawk must have ha thought of them They were for tor those who could get them Certainly Killer could not have looked at them in any other way Killer alighted In the top ot of o a tree not fifty feet away and Farm Fann Farmer Fanner er Browns Brown's Boy Doy had a splendid chance chanco to see Bee him lIe He looked what be he was every was every Inch master of the air lie He was waa built for tor speed The very shape of ot his hla wings showed this He lie was mas mae master master maetee ter tee o ot of the air and he knew itHe it It lie He asked no favors from anyone any anyone anyone one True he was a killer but when Farmer Browns Brown's Boy Doy cameto came cameto cameto to think this over he ho had to ad- ad admit admit ad admit mit that In this respect the Duck Hawk differed little from many others It was simply that the Duck Hawk killed what man him himself self Belt preferred to keep for his own killing I suppose Killer said Farm Farmer er Browns Brown's Boy Doy speaking softly I 1 suppose that a good many peo peo- people people peo- peo pie would Bay My I 1 ought to kill these babies of ot yours and that's what I 1 Intended to do when I first them But Dut I do not feel that way now You kill k for food tood or not at all You take only such life as is necessary to support your own o life lire and the life of your our children I suppose In the I f r cJ So this Is where my pigeons went to he exclaimed course of ot a year you may catch calcha a few ducks At t most It cannot be a II very great number But Dut because you get these few tew men say that you should be shot hot on sight and those same men w will kill k many ducks in a II day and doit do doIt 1 It day after day The hunter begrudges you the single duck 1 you may take and he himself will kill twenty five In a day sobe so sobe sobe be it the law allows him to SInce I 1 have haye sat here at your home on the edge of ot the world I 1 have learned have see see learned to see farther and more clearly and I 1 am glad Copyright 1926 by T W ft Bur Dur- Durgess Burgess gess |