Anecdotes of Animals. Unknown

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A REMARKABLE NEWSMAN

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      One of the carriers of a large newspaper being ill, his son took his place; but, not knowing the subscribers he was to supply, he took for his guide a dog which had usually gone over the route with his father. The animal trotted on ahead of the boy and stopped at every door where the paper was to be left, without making a single mistake, or forgetting anybody.

VI

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SHARP-WITTED BRUIN

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      The captain of a Greenland whaler being anxious to secure a bear, without wounding the skin, made trial of the trick of laying a noose of rope in the snow, and placing a piece of meat within it. A bear, roaming over the ice nearby was soon attracted to the spot by the smell of the dainty morsel. He saw the bait, crept up cautiously, and seized it in his mouth; but his foot at the same time, by a jerk of the rope, became entangled in the noose. He quietly pushed it off with his paw, and walked slowly away. Having eaten the piece he had carried away with him, he returned. The noose, with another piece of meat, having been replaced, he pushed the rope aside, and again walked off with his capture. A third time the noose was laid, but having seen how clever the bear was, the sailors buried the rope beneath the snow, and laid the bait in a deep hole dug in the centre. The bear once more came back, and the sailors thought they were now sure of success. But bruin, much wiser than they expected, after snuffing about the place for a few moments, scraped the snow away with his paws, threw the rope aside once more, and again escaped unhurt with his prize.

VII

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MAKING SURE

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      During the war between Augustus Cæsar and Mark Antony, when all the world stood wondering and uncertain as to which one Fortune would favor, a poor man at Rome, in order to be prepared for making, in either event, a bold move for his own advancement, hit upon the following clever plan. He set himself to the training of two crows with such great care, that at length he had taught them to pronounce with great distinctness, the one a salutation to Cæsar, and the other a salutation to Antony.

      When Augustus returned the conqueror, the man went out to meet him with the proper crow perched on his fist, and every now and then it kept calling out, “Salve, Cæsar, Victor Imperator!” “Hail, Cæsar, Conqueror and Imperator!” Augustus, greatly amused and delighted with so novel a greeting, bought the gifted bird of the man for a sum which was so large that it made him rich.

VIII

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THE BEAR AND THE CHILD

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      Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, had a bear called Marco, of whose sagacity we have this remarkable story. One cold winter day, a boy, almost frozen with the cold, entered Marco's hut, without thinking of the danger which he ran in thus exposing himself to the mercy of the animal which was in there. Marco, however, instead of doing the child any injury, took him between his paws, and warmed him by pressing him to his breast until the next morning, when he let him go. The boy came back to the hut in the evening, and was received with the same affection. For several days he had no other home, and it added not a little to his joy to see that the bear always saved part of his food for him. A number of days passed in this way without the servants knowing anything of what was going on. At length, when one of them came one day, rather later than usual, to bring the bear his supper, he was greatly surprised to see the huge animal roll his eyes in a furious manner, and act as if he wished him to make as little noise as possible, for fear of awaking the child whom he held clasped to his breast. The animal, though very hungry, did not seem to be the least moved by the sight of the food which was placed before him. The story of this strange incident was soon spread at court, and reached the ears of Leopold; who, with part of his courtiers, was anxious to learn if the tale of Marco's generosity were true. Several of them spent the night near his hut, and saw with astonishment that the bear never stirred as long as his guest showed a desire to sleep. At dawn the child awoke, was very much ashamed to find that he was discovered, and, fearing that he would be punished, begged pardon. The bear, however, caressed him, and tried to get him to eat what had been brought to him the evening before. He did this at the request of the courtiers, who conducted him to the prince. Having learned the whole story, Leopold ordered the little boy to be taken care of, and he would, no doubt, have soon made his fortune, had he not died a short time afterward.

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A CLEVER CROW

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      A carrion crow, seeing on a lawn, a brood of fourteen chickens under the care of a mother-hen, picked up one; but when a young lady opened a window and gave the alarm, the robber dropped his prey. In the course of the day, however, the thief returned, together with thirteen other crows. Then each one seized a chick, and thus the whole brood was carried off at once.

X

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THE POWER OF MUSIC

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      One Sunday evening, five singers were walking on the banks of a river. After some time, being tired with walking, they sat down on the grass, and began to sing. The field on which they sat was bounded on one side by a wood, out of which, as they were singing, they noticed a hare pass with great swiftness toward the place where they were sitting, and at about twenty yards' distance from them, it stopped. It then seemed greatly delighted with the music, often turning up the side of its head so as to hear more easily. As