He was laying out the route for a
great railroad. There were two thousand men, twenty-five hundred horses
and mules, and a train of two hundred and fifty wagons heavily laden.
One day the general was riding at the head of the broad column, when
suddenly his voice rang out, "Halt!"
A bird's nest lay on the ground directly in front of him. In another
moment the horses would have trampled on the nestlings. The mother bird
was flying about and chirping in the greatest anxiety. But the brave
general had not brought out his army to destroy a bird's nest.
He halted for a moment, looked at the little birds in the nest below,
and then gave the order, "Left oblique!"
Men, horses, mules, and wagons turned aside and spared the home of the
helpless bird. Months, and even years after, those who crossed the
plains saw a great bend in the trail. It was the bend made to avoid
crushing the bird's nest. Truly, great hearts are tender hearts, and
"the loving are the daring."
"There is one language that all creatures comprehend--the language of
loving-kindness. Love to an animal is what sunshine is to a plant. It
has a tonic effect, and they thrive on it. This does not mean fussiness
--it means a combination of sympathy, wisdom and justice.
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