St. Francis said to his disciples: "Tarry a
little while in the road while I go and preach to my little sisters, the
birds." And he went into the fields and began to preach to the birds
which sat on the ground; and straightway all the others flew down from
the trees and flocked round him, and did not fly away until he had
blessed them; and when he touched them, they did not move. And these
were the words which he spoke to them: "My brothers and sisters, little
birds, praise God and thank Him that He has given you wings with which
to fly and clothed you with a garment of feathers. That he admitted your
kind into Noah's ark so that your race should not disappear from the
earth. Be grateful to Him that He has given you the air for your
kingdom; you sow not, neither do you reap, but your Heavenly Father
gives you abundance of food. He gave you the rivers and fountains; He
gave you the mountains and valleys as a refuge, and the high trees so
that you may build your nests in safety.
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