from THE TYRANT FLY-CATCHER, OR KING BIRD Alexander Wilson p. 1816 ================================================= Kill not thy friend, who thy whole harvest shields, And sweeps ten thousand vermin from the fields; Think how this dauntless bird, thy poultry's guard, Drove every hawk and eagle from thy yard; Watched round thy cattle as they fed, and slew The hungry, blackening swarms that round them flew, Some small return--some little right resign And spare his life whose services are thine! (ll. 83-90) ======== ** contributory thanks to Sam Droege ** ======== ========