The one extreme is that of uncritical generosity which credits every
animal, like Brer Rabbit--who, by the way, was the hare--with human
qualities. The other extreme is that of thinking of the animal as if it
were an automatic machine, in the working of which there is no place or
use for mind. Both these extremes are to be avoided.
When Professor Whitman took the eggs of the Passenger Pigeon (which
became extinct not long ago with startling rapidity) and placed them a
few inches to one side of the nest, the bird looked a little uneasy and
put her beak under her body as if to feel for something that was not
there. But she did not try to retrieve her eggs, close at hand as they
were. In a short time she flew away altogether. This shows that the mind
of the pigeon is in some respects very different from the mind of man.
On the other hand, when a certain clever dog, carrying a basket of eggs,
with the handle in his mouth, came to a stile which had to be
negotiated, he laid the basket on the ground, pushed it gently through a
low gap to the other side, and then took a running leap over. We dare
not talk of this dog as an automatic machine.