e not as capable of defending themselves against
the stronger animals, God has marvellously provided with two stomachs.
The cow goes out in the field and crops off the grass rapidly and can
then go to a place of shelter and lie down, and there, protected from
the attack of wild beasts, chew what she has gathered. This is known in
the country as chewing the cud. The same is true with sheep; they also
bite off the grass and swallow it quickly. It passes into a first
stomach and then they can lie down in some quiet place and chew the cud;
or in other words chew that which they have hastily bitten off in the
fields.

[Illustration: The Turtle.]

Now the turtle cannot escape from his enemies because he cannot run very
rapidly, and so God has covered him with a coat of mail and given him a
helmet, a hard, bony covering for the head and this large bony covering
for his body, which we can very properly call his house. When danger
approaches, the turtle quickly draws his head and his feet into this
large shell, and is quite safe from the attack of his enemies. Whatever
animal might desire to eat the turtle is prevented on account of this
hard outer shell. On this lower part you will notice how the turtle can
draw the front portion up more closely, and thus the more securely shut
himself within his house. So you see how God has provided all the
animals with a means of protection and defense, first, to protect their
lives, and secondly, to save them from pain and suffering.

While God has thus successfully protected them against other animals,
they are not protected against the superior intelligence and ingenuity
of man. The birds can fly faster than the man can run, but man can shoot
the bird with an arrow or with a rifle. So with all the other animals.
Now God has made it right for us to kill animals for food, but it is
very wrong for us to destroy animals for the simple pleasure of taking
life, and it is also very wicked to inflict pain unnecessarily upon any
of the animals.

I want to tell you about a boy who was once strolling through the fields
with his sister. They found a nest of rabbits. The sister was charmed
with the beautiful nest itself and with its living occupants, but the
boy teased them, mimicking their squeaks and their struggles. In vain
his sister plead with him not to hurt these pretty little creatures, but
the wicked boy flung them up into the air one by one and shouted when
each fell dead upon the stones