little harry feeding his rabbits.
new-york
d. appleton & co. 200 broadway.
the care with which a doe rabbit provides for its young is very remarkable. she not only makes a nest of the softest hay, from which she carefully munches out all the harder portions, but she actually strips the fur or down off her own breast, to spread over the hay. at first she covers up her young ones with the same materials, in order to keep them warm, uncovering them only for the purpose of giving them suck. she is also extremely careful in proportioning this covering to the severity of the weather, and the tenderness or strength of her offspring, gradually diminishing it as they grow more robust.
if rabbits are kept and raised apart from their mother, it is then necessary that proper attention should be paid to them by the person who undertakes to raise them. that is the reason why you see little harry feeding his rabbits. little harry is the only son of a poor woman who lives in a small cottage at the end of a lane on a large farm in this state belonging to[70] a wealthy and thriving farmer. although the farmer is very kind to harry’s mother, allowing her to have the use of the cottage and an acre of ground free of rent, still the old woman has hard work to live comfortably. knowing the advantages to be derived from the possession of a good education, she deprives herself of many comforts to enable her to send her only child, harry, to school. many of my little readers who peruse this, go to excellent schools, and never imagine that there are many who are deprived of that great advantage. when they think of this, and the opportunities they enjoy for improving themselves, they should exert themselves to the utmost to do so.
harry being anxious to learn every thing he could, so that he might one day become a smart man, and be able to support his mother, never spent a cent for himself, but carried all he got to his mother. perhaps you may think a poor little boy like him did not get many cents; but in this you are mistaken, for harry was up bright and early every morning, and would often do little jobs for the farmers before he went to school. then he had rabbit houses at the end of his mother’s cottage, where he kept a number of rabbits, which often had young ones; these he would take to market and sell for a good price. he raised a good many poultry, which brought in a good deal of money for the[71] eggs and chickens. with these and other little matters that he raised on their acre of ground, he was enabled to collect enough money to pay for his schooling, and give his mother many comforts.
i hope all my readers will join with me in wishing harry’s efforts may be successful, and that they may reap that reward which industry and kindness to parents deserve.
w. p.
