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Story
December 5, 1909
The Columbus Commercial
Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi
What is this article about?
A well-meaning but uninformed woman finds a young sparrow on the sidewalk and asks a boy to care for it, suggesting milk, which causes him to laugh uproariously as he runs off with the bird.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
GIRL NOT A NATURE STUDENT
She Meant Well, but Evidently Had a Lot to Learn About Care of Birds.
She was not a nature student, and when she saw a sparrow on the sidewalk, evidently too young to fly and too badly frightened even to hop, she did not know exactly what to do for it. She did not know how it had got there, where its parents were or what relief measures would be advisable.
All she could do, in her perplexity, was to keep the group of boys who had gathered around it from harming it and see if any of them could suggest a course of action, for she was well aware that in these days of nature study the veriest infant knows more about birds and their like than many an elder person.
Presently a big boy pushed through the group, looked at the bird kindly, then stopped and took it in. She was much relieved. "Will you take care of it?" she asked him: "Sure!" he responded, with inelegant emphasis. She was anxious that it should have the best of care, so she helpfully suggested, "Better give it a little milk."
The boy stared. Then he grinned. Then he yelled.
"Milk!" he roared. "Milk! ha! milk!" Then he streaked up the street, carrying the bird carefully in his hands and derisively ejaculating. "Milk!"
Her face flushed as she went on her way, and she was heard to murmur to herself, "Now, I wonder why he laughed? Very unmannerly, I'm sure."
She Meant Well, but Evidently Had a Lot to Learn About Care of Birds.
She was not a nature student, and when she saw a sparrow on the sidewalk, evidently too young to fly and too badly frightened even to hop, she did not know exactly what to do for it. She did not know how it had got there, where its parents were or what relief measures would be advisable.
All she could do, in her perplexity, was to keep the group of boys who had gathered around it from harming it and see if any of them could suggest a course of action, for she was well aware that in these days of nature study the veriest infant knows more about birds and their like than many an elder person.
Presently a big boy pushed through the group, looked at the bird kindly, then stopped and took it in. She was much relieved. "Will you take care of it?" she asked him: "Sure!" he responded, with inelegant emphasis. She was anxious that it should have the best of care, so she helpfully suggested, "Better give it a little milk."
The boy stared. Then he grinned. Then he yelled.
"Milk!" he roared. "Milk! ha! milk!" Then he streaked up the street, carrying the bird carefully in his hands and derisively ejaculating. "Milk!"
Her face flushed as she went on her way, and she was heard to murmur to herself, "Now, I wonder why he laughed? Very unmannerly, I'm sure."
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Animal Story
What themes does it cover?
Nature
Social Manners
What keywords are associated?
Sparrow Rescue
Bird Care Mistake
Humorous Misunderstanding
Nature Study Ignorance
What entities or persons were involved?
The Girl
The Big Boy
Where did it happen?
On The Sidewalk
Story Details
Key Persons
The Girl
The Big Boy
Location
On The Sidewalk
Story Details
A woman ignorant of nature study finds a frightened young sparrow on the sidewalk, protects it from boys, and asks a knowledgeable boy to care for it, but her suggestion to give it milk provokes his laughter as he runs off with the bird.