One Sunday morning, George Thomas, a baker in a small New England town, was walking through town when he saw a young boy coming toward him, swinging (挥舞) a bird cage in the air. On the bottom of the cage, there were three little wild birds shaking with cold and fear. George Thomas stopped the boy and asked him what he got there.
The boy was happy and told him that there were just some old birds in the cage. When the baker asked him what he would do with the old birds. The boy said casually (漫不经心地) that he wanted to take the birds home and play with them. He would pull out their feathers to make them fight. He would have a really good time because he would enjoy watching these.
George Thomas was shocked by what the boy said. How could a boy be so rude to wild animals? So he continued to ask the boy what he would do to the birds when he got tired of them, because he was such a naughty and cruel boy that he was sure to be tired of them sooner or later. The boy laughed and said that he had a cat, which liked birds, so he would give the birds to his cat. The baker got more worried and decided to help set free the poor birds. So he asked, "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
The boy looked at him in surprise, wondering if the baker really wanted to buy them. He laughed and reminded the man that they were just plain old field birds. They didn't sing and they were not even pretty. However, the baker insisted and continued to ask him how much he wanted for the birds.
The boy stared at the baker as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The baker reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill.
The baker picked up the cage.
