When I was a boy of twelve in South Carolina, something happened to me that
made me never put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a forest, and every evening the mockingbirds
would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn't a musical instrument
made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the
mockingbird.
I decided to catch a young bird and keep it in a cage, and in this way, I
would have my own
private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, being
frightened, the bird fluttered (扑腾) about the cage, but finally it
settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some
beautiful singing from my little musician.
On the second day, the little bird's mother flew to the cage with food in her
mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this.
Certainly the mother bird knew how to feed her baby than I did.
The following morning when I went to see my bird, I discovered it on the
floor of the cage, dead. I was terribly surprised! What had happened!
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist (鸟类专家), who happened to be
visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird,
explained to me. "A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will
sometimes bring it poison berries (毒莓). She thinks it better for
her baby to die than to lose freedom.
Since then I have never caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All
living things have a right to live free.