“So why shouldn’t we kill the birds? They are our enemies, and they do nothing but harm.
“And, besides, we haven’t killed more than a dozen of them. Who would miss a dozen in a world so full of birds?”
By this time most of the birds were quivering with anger.
And they cried again: “Shoot them with an arrow! Hit them with a stone! Kill them!
“Who would miss two in a world so full of boys?”
“Listen, my friends,” said Father Thrift. “I agree with you that the boys deserve to be treated in the same way that they have treated you. They have been cruel.
“Still, let us not act in haste or anger. Let us think matters over well. Perhaps we shall find that some wrong has been done on both sides.
“Go, now, and return at two o’clock. We will decide then what it is best to do.”