3 MARCH 1950, Page 18

A Grateful Bird A pretty tale of a bird's acceptance

of man as a friend in trouble reaches me from Holland. An oyster-catcher was seen by a wanderer on the beach to be caught in a patch of oil and rendered nearly helpless. After trying to clean its feathers she would have left it; but the bird would not let her. It actually took hold of the woman's skirt when she attempted to walk away. It was then wrapped up in a bit of canvas found on the beach and carried home. To clean a 'bird of oil is difficult, but it can be done with success.