Kindness to Animals | Page 3

part of North America, my store of anecdotes is not so great. However, I will try my best to give you some notion of what I do know; and as I shall often have occasion to name Jack, I will begin by telling you who he was.
Jack was a little Irish boy, who became deaf while he was still a baby; and because, as you know, babies learn to talk by hearing those around them, Jack, not hearing anybody talk, could not learn, and so he grew up dumb. It is a sad thing to be deaf and dumb. A person who is so, cannot possibly learn any thing about God and our Lord Jesus Christ, until he has been taught to read; and it is so very difficult to teach them, that if some benevolent people, who have money, did not subscribe to keep up charitable schools on purpose for the deaf and dumb poor, I do not suppose that one in a thousand of them would ever learn so much as that they have a soul to be saved or lost: and you may judge what a miserable life they must lead, in total ignorance, nobody speaking to them, and they not able to speak to anybody. Jack was in this state when I first saw him, at eleven years old; he was a poor boy, and I took him, and taught him, and he lived with me above seven years, till he died of a consumption. He died very happy indeed, full of love to God for his great mercy in sending his Son into the world to save sinners: and depending on the Lord Jesus for salvation. He was always with me, speaking by means of his fingers, but in an odd, that is, an imperfect sort of language, that would make you smile. So when I mention Jack, you will know who I mean; and we will now have some talk about the domestic animals.
When I say domestic, I mean such as we are used to see in our houses, streets, and fields. Lions, tigers, elephants, and such as are shut up in caravans, or only taken about for a show, do not belong to these; though I am not sure that I shall not have a word or two to say about bears and monkeys. I want to amuse you, my young friends, and to make you think a little too; for all the good things given us of God become more valuable to us when we think about them in a right way. Jack knew this: he used to rub his forehead with his fingers' ends, shake his head wisely, and spell, "Very good think." I hope you will judge the same; and when you have come to the end of my little book, be able to say you have had a "very good think" too.
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CHAPTER II.
THE HORSE.
The great mistake that people seem to me to make about animals is this: they fancy that they must be frightened into obedience, and kept from disobeying their masters by being made afraid of punishment. I dare say that animals, like human beings, often need correction; but two things are necessary to make such correction useful. One is, not to punish them too severely, which only hardens them in rebellion; the other is, never to hurt them at all except for a real fault--something that they know to be a fault, and know that they will be punished for doing. Otherwise, the poor beast, not knowing when or why it may be beaten, gets confused and foolish, and does wrong, as any boy might do, from being in a great fright. The truth is, that the animals are very sensible, and very willing to do their best. They are fond of being praised and rewarded; they become very much attached to those who treat them kindly; and when they are so attached, they are very happy, and show off all the fine qualities that make them both valuable and entertaining. I am going to tell you some stories about my own favourites; and, to prevent your thinking that they were different from others of the same kind, I shall begin by letting you into the secret of making them so knowing.
First, I tried to find out their habits; and I will tell you what they are. All very young animals like to sleep a good deal, and to be let alone. It both frightens and hurts them to be pulled about, and makes them fretful and ill-tempered; spoils their growth, and prevents their loving you. A puppy or a kitten is very fond of play, and will jump and bounce about with you for a long while; but the moment they begin to get tired, they