.

Yet, to him it seemed a just and victorious warfare, and he exchanged
congratulations with his neighbors. He was pleased to get free from
plagues, and he thought that relief was a good achieved of a real evil.
His next argument with Mr. Nimblet, was less confidently urged, while
Mr. Nimblet brought new illustrations to his aid. Fabens, indeed,
staggered at the reasons that now opposed his view. Prowling beasts of
prey were evil as anything that had started up to devour his idea, and
good to all must come, he thought, for sweeping them away.

Another season bloomed, and the birds were very few, and the bark of
the fox, and the howl of the wolf, were very seldom heard. But now was
the beginning of plagues more appalling. Flies that had served the
robins for food, swarmed forth unmolested, and stung the cherry-trees,
so that they bore little fruit at all, and that little was wormy and
worthless. And worms that had served all the birds of the air with
meat, now multiplied greatly, and cut down all the vines, and destroyed
double the corn that the fowls had taken; while caterpillars and
locusts trimmed the orchards, and plagued the oats and wheat.

"I begin to think that the poor birds were our friends, after all, and
we shall now get our pay for killing them," said Fabens to Colwell, one
day, while talking of the new annoyance.

"Prospects for crops never looked so squally afore," said Colwell. "I
can stand crows and blackbirds, I can stomach wolves and foxes,
better'n them nasty worms."

"We called that evil which God sent for good," said Fabens.

"I know not what we are coming to," sighed neighbor Nimblet.

"But, we done some good, our lambs and geese are safe, sense we pisoned
the animals," said Colwell, cheering up his heart.

"I have noticed that the woods looked very yellow of late," said
neighbor Nimblet. "What can be the cause of that? My maple orchard,
my chestnut woods, my cedar swamp and pine groves, look as though they
were dying."

"I have noticed it," said Fabens; "but I did not think to examine till
yesterday. My most valuable pines and cedars, and my chestnuts and
sugar maples are dying. And come to examine them, I find the wood-mice
and rabbits have girdled them. This is something I never saw before.
The woods fairly crawl with creatures that are destroying them. And we
are at fault for it all, neighbor Nimblet. Say what you will, wolves
and foxes were our friends. They destroyed