As Lulu came home from school one afternoon, she noticed three or four
boys throwing stones at something--I hardly like to =tell= you what. It
was a poor little brown sparrow that had somehow hurt its leg, and could
not fly. However, this happened a great many years ago, and perhaps boys
are less cruel now.
Lulu could not bear to see the poor bird treated so badly, and she asked
the boys to give it to her. At first they laughed, and went on throwing
the stones; but she continued to beg for it so earnestly, that at last
one of the boys said, "Let her have it". And Lulu was only too glad to
pick up the wounded bird and carry it home. She nursed and fed it
carefully, and put it in a warm place by the fire; but, in spite of all
her care, the sparrow died in a few hours.
Sometimes pain is necessary, as in Story Lesson 29; we should never
think of saying the dentist was cruel; rather we should say he was kind,
because he saved the monkey from =further= pain. But when we cause pain
that is =needless=, as these boys did, it is =cruel=. They were cowardly
also. If the bird had been an eagle, with strong claws that could have
hurt them in return, would they have stoned it? No; they chose a poor
little sparrow that could not defend itself, and this was =cowardly=.
Then it was =unfair=. You do not like to be punished or found fault with
if you have done nothing wrong; you feel it is not fair; neither is it
fair to hurt a dumb animal that has done nothing wrong.