The Yellow-breast. Who stole my nest, I say?
The Bobolink. Who stole her nest?
The Crow. I should like to know the thief. Who was it?
The Hen. Don’t ask me. The chicks and I each gave a feather and she used them. We would be ashamed to intrude on her.
A Bird. Let’s all make a stir and find out who it is. Then we’ll cry “For shame!” together.
Mary Green. I wouldn’t rob a bird. I never heard anything so mean.
Alice Neal. It is very cruel. I wonder if the thief knew how sad the Yellow-breast would feel.
Boys do not steal nests because they are mean and want to give pain. They admire the pretty eggs, they like the skilfully built nests, and they do not realize that anything suffers real pain. That is a lesson they must be taught. Can you teach kindness by cruelty? Is it not rather cruel to say right out before Mary Green and Alice Neal and the other girls that the boy was so ashamed he hung his head, hid behind the bed and wouldn’t tell his name?