A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals Part 6

A Shrewd Guesser.

A French officer, more remarkable for his birth and spirit than his wealth, had served the Venetian republic for some years with great valour and fidelity, but had not met with that preferment which he merited. One day he waited on a n.o.bleman whom he had often solicited in vain, but on whose friends.h.i.+p he had still some reliance. The reception he met with was cool and mortifying; the n.o.bleman turned his back upon the necessitous veteran, and left him to find his way to the street through a suite of apartments magnificently furnished. He pa.s.sed them lost in thought, till, casting his eyes on a sumptuous sideboard, where a valuable collection of Venetian gla.s.s, polished and formed in the highest degree of perfection, stood on a damask cloth as a preparation for a splendid entertainment, he took hold of a corner of the linen, and turning to a faithful English mastiff which always accompanied him, said to the animal, in a kind of absence of mind, "Here, my poor old friend; you see how these haughty tyrants indulge themselves, and yet how we are treated!" The poor dog looked his master in the face, and gave tokens that he understood him. The master walked on, but the mastiff slackened his pace, and laying hold of the damask cloth with his teeth, at one hearty pull brought all the gla.s.s on the sideboard in s.h.i.+vers to the ground, thus depriving the insolent n.o.ble of his favourite exhibition of splendour.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE XLIX.

A Tame Colony.

A well-known traveller, in a description of the Island of Tristan d'Acunha, states that the animals found on this solitary spot were so tame, that it was necessary to clear a path through the birds which were reposing on the rocks, by kicking them aside. One species of seal did not move at all when struck or pelted, and at length some of the company amused themselves by mounting them, and riding them into the sea!

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE L.

An Usurper Punished.

Some years ago a sparrow had early in spring taken possession of an old swallow's nest, and had laid some eggs in it, when the original builder and owner of the castle made her appearance, and claimed possession. The sparrow, firmly seated, resisted the claim of the swallow; a smart battle ensued, in which the swallow was joined by its mate, and during the conflict by several of their comrades. All the efforts of the a.s.sembled swallows to dislodge the usurper were, however, unsuccessful. Finding themselves completely foiled in this object, it would seem that they had held a council of war to consult on ulterior measures; and the resolution they came to shows that with no ordinary degree of ingenuity some very lofty considerations of right and justice were combined in their deliberations. Since the sparrow could not be dispossessed of the nest, the next question with them appears to have been, how he could be otherwise punished for his unlawful occupation of a property unquestionably belonging to its original constructor. The council were unanimous in thinking that nothing short of the death of the intruder could atone for so heinous an offence; and having so decided, they proceeded to put their sentence into execution in the following very extraordinary manner. Quitting the scene of the contest for a time, they returned with acc.u.mulated numbers, each bearing a beak full of building materials; and without any further attempt to beat out the sparrow, they instantly set to work and built up the entrance into the nest, enclosing the sparrow within the clay tenement, and leaving her to perish in the stronghold she had so bravely defended.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE LI.

The Rights of Hospitality.

A native Moor who went to hunt the lion, having proceeded far into a forest, happened to meet with two lion's whelps that came to caress him; the hunter stopped with the little animals, and waiting for the coming of the sire or the dam, took out his breakfast, and gave them a part. The lioness arrived unperceived by the huntsman, so that he had not time, or perhaps wanted the courage, to take to his gun. After having for some time looked at the man that was thus feasting her young, the lioness went away, and soon after returned, bearing with her a sheep, which she came and laid at the huntsman's feet.

The Moor, thus become one of the family, took this occasion of making a good meal, skinned the sheep, made a fire, and roasted a part, giving the entrails to the young. The lion in his turn came also; and, as if respecting the rights of hospitality, showed no tokens whatever of ferocity. Their guest the next day, having finished his provisions, returned, and came to a resolution never more to kill any of those animals, the n.o.ble generosity of which he had so fully proved. He stroked and caressed the whelps at taking leave of them, and the dam and sire accompanied him till he was safely out of the forest.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE LII.

A Grateful Lioness.

A Dreadful famine raged at Buenos Ayres, yet the governor, afraid of giving the Indians a habit of spilling Spanish blood, forbade the inhabitants on pain of death to go into the fields in search of relief, placing soldiers at all the outlets to the country, with orders to fire upon those who should attempt to transgress his orders. A woman, however, called Maldonata, was artful enough to elude the vigilance of the guards, and escape. After wandering about the country for a long time, she sought for shelter in a cavern, but she had scarcely entered it when she espied a lioness, the sight of which terrified her. She was, however, soon quieted by the caresses of the animal, who, in return for a service rendered her, showed every sign of affection and friendliness. She never returned from searching after her own daily subsistence without laying a portion of it at the feet of Maldonata, until her whelps being strong enough to walk abroad, she took them out with her and never returned.

Some time after Maldonata fell into the hands of the Spaniards, and being brought back to Buenos Ayres on the charge of having left the city contrary to orders, the governor, a man of cruelty, condemned the unfortunate woman to a death which none but the most cruel tyrant could have thought of. He ordered some soldiers to take her into the country and leave her tied to a tree, either to perish by hunger, or to be torn to pieces by wild beasts, as he expected. Two days after, he sent the same soldiers to see what was become of her; when, to their great surprise, they found her alive and unhurt, though surrounded by lions and tigers, which a lioness at her feet kept at some distance. As soon as the lioness perceived the soldiers, she retired a little, and enabled them to unbind Maldonata, who related to them the history of this lioness, whom she knew to be the same she had formerly a.s.sisted in the cavern. On the soldiers taking Maldonata away, the lioness fawned upon her as unwilling to part.

The soldiers reported what they had seen to the commander, who could not but pardon a woman who had been so singularly protected, without appearing more inhuman than lions themselves.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE LIII.

A Good Finder.

One day a tradesman, walking with a friend, offered to wager that if he were to hide a five-s.h.i.+lling piece in the dust, his dog would discover and bring it to him. The wager was accepted, and the piece of money marked and secreted. When the two had proceeded some distance, the tradesman called to his dog that he had lost something, and ordered him to seek it. The dog immediately turned back, and his master and his companion pursued their walk. Meanwhile a traveller, driving in a small chaise, perceived the piece of money which his horse had kicked from its hiding-place, alighted, took it up, and drove to his inn. The dog had just reached the spot in search of the lost piece, when the stranger picked it up. He followed the chaise, went into the inn. Having scented out the coin in the pocket of the traveller, he leaped up at him incessantly. Supposing him to be some dog that had lost his master, the traveller regarded his movements as marks of fondness; and as the animal was handsome, determined to keep him.

He gave him a good supper, and on retiring took him with him to his chamber. No sooner had he pulled off his breeches than they were seized by the dog; the owner, conceiving that he wanted to play with them, took them away. The animal began to bark at the door, which the traveller opened, thinking the dog wanted to go out. The dog s.n.a.t.c.hed up the breeches and away he flew, the traveller posting after him with his nightcap on. The dog ran full speed to his master's house, followed by the stranger, who accused the dog of robbing him. "Sir," said the master, "my dog is a very faithful creature; and if he ran away with your breeches, it is because you have in them money which does not belong to you." The traveller became still more angry. "Compose yourself, sir," rejoined the other, smiling; "without doubt there is in your purse a five-s.h.i.+lling piece which you picked up in the road, and which I hid knowing my dog would bring it back.

This is the cause of the robbery which he has committed upon you." The stranger acknowledged the truth of the tradesman's statement, delivered up the coin, and departed.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE LIV.

Musical Seals.

Seals have a very delicate sense of hearing, and are much delighted with music. A gentleman, in his account of a voyage to Spitzbergen, mentions that the captain of the s.h.i.+p's son, who was fond of playing on the violin, never failed to have a numerous auditory when in the seas frequented by these animals; and he has seen them follow the s.h.i.+p for miles when any person was playing on deck.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

ANECDOTE LV.

A Sly Couple.

A gentleman in the county of Stirling kept a greyhound and a pointer, and being fond of coursing, the pointer was accustomed to find the hares, and the greyhound to catch them. When the season was over, it was found that the dogs were in the habit of going out by themselves, and killing hares for their own amus.e.m.e.nt. To prevent this, a large iron ring was fastened to the pointer's neck by a leather collar, and hung down so as to prevent the dog from running, or jumping over d.y.k.es, &c. The animals, however, continued to stroll out to the fields together; and one day the gentleman, suspecting that all was not right, resolved to watch them, and to his surprise, found that the moment when they thought that they were un.o.bserved, the greyhound took up the iron ring in his mouth, and carrying it, they set off to the hills, and began to search for hares as usual.

They were followed, and it was observed, that whenever the pointer scented the hare, the ring was dropped, and the greyhound stood ready to pounce upon poor puss the moment the other drove her from her form, but that he uniformly returned to a.s.sist his companion after he had caught his prey.

[Ill.u.s.tration]