Page:Abraham Lincoln, A Story and a Play.djvu/41

 narrow lane they were obliged to go two by two. Lincoln and his friend, Mr. Hardin, happened to be the last ones. Suddenly Lincoln stopped. He had spied two baby birds beside the road. The wind had blown the helpless little creatures out of their nest in some tree top.

In another moment Lincoln had sprung from his horse and was busy hunting about for the nest. Mr. Hardin went on, and catching up with the rest of the party, he told them what his friend was doing. When Lincoln afterwards joined them, they laughed at him, but this did not trouble him in the least.

He only said, "I could not have slept if I had not restored those little birds to their mother."

Though his mind was now busy with hard law problems, his heart was as tender as ever for all helpless creatures, no matter how unimportant they might seem to others.

Children were always very dear to Mr. Lincoln. No matter how busy he might be, he could always take time to help a child who was in trouble. One day he was on the way to his office, when he noticed a little girl standing on the sidewalk in front of her home. She was crying bitterly. He stopped to ask what was the matter.