Excerpt from Wild Nature: Won by Kindness In the following chapters I shall try to have quiet talks with my readers and tell them in a simple way about the many pleasant friendships I have had with animals, birds, and insects. I use the word friendships advisedly, because truly to know and enjoy the society Of a pet creature you must make it feel that you are, or wish to be, its friend, one to whom it can always look for food. Shelter, and solace it must be at ease and at home with you before its instincts and curious ways will be shown. Sometimes when friends have wished me to see their so-called pet, some scared animal or poor fluttering bird has been brought, for whom my deepest sympathy has been excited; and yet there may have been perhaps the kindest desire to make the creature happy, food provided in abun dance, and a pleasant home; but these alone will not avail. For lack of the quiet gentle treatment which is so'requisite, the poor little captive will possibly be miserable, pining for liberty, hating its prison, dreading the visits Of its jailor, and so harassed in its terror that in some cases the poor little heart is broken, and in a few hours death is the result. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.