Why Some Birds Hop and Others Walk

A little boy said to a little bird, “Stop,

And tell me the reason you go with a hop.

Why don’t you walk, as boys do, and men,

One foot at a time, like a dove or a hen?”

“Use your eyes, little boy; watch closely and see

What little birds hop, both feet, just like me,

And what little birds walk like the duck and the hen;

And when you know that you’ll know more than some men.

“Every bird that can scratch in the dirt can walk;