The Jews made a division of
animals into clean and unclean, and the ancient Persians held certain
animals in detestation as having a connection with the evil spirit;
while others were esteemed by them as connected with the good spirit or
principle. Other ancient nations held certain animals as more sacred
than others, and these ideas still exist among us, modified and
transformed to a greater or less extent. The robin is a familiar example
of a bird which is held in veneration by the popular mind. The legend of
the robins in the _Babes in the Wood_ may have increased this
veneration. There was a popular saying that the robin had a drop of
God's blood in its veins, and that therefore to kill or hurt it was a
sin, and that some evil would befall anyone who did so, and, conversely,
any kindness done to poor robin would be repaid in some fashion. Boys
did not dare to harry a robin's nest.
The _yellow yite_, or yellow hammer, was held in just the opposite
estimation, and although one of the prettiest of birds, their nests were
remorselessly harried, and their young often cruelly killed.
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