Birds and Beasts
Translated by A. R. Allinson from the French of Camille Lemonnier
Illustrated by
E. J. Detmold
London: George Allen & Company, Ltd.
Ruskin House, Rathbone Place. Mcmxi
[All rights reserved]
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
Contents and Illustrations
- PAGE
- Jack and Murph 1
- The Captive Goldfinch 53
- Strange Adventures of a Little White Rabbit 91
- “Monsieur Friquet” 106
- A Lost Dog 133
- Misadventures of an Owl 156
Birds and Beasts
JACK AND MURPH
Jack and Murph
I
Jack and Murph were friends, oldfriends, trusty and tried.
It was now nearly six years since theday chance had brought them togetheras members of the same company.Jack had come straight from theAfrican forests; he had crossed theseas, and set foot on the continentof Europe for the first time; hisamazement knew no bounds.
It is not for nothing a little fellowof his sort is torn from the freedomof his vagabond life in the woods andsurrendered to the tender mercies ofa showman of performing animals.He learned to know the cruel tediumof captivity; shut up in a cage, hethought sadly of his merry gambolsin the tree-tops; his little face grewwan and withered, and he came nearpining to death. But time dampedthe keenness of his grief; by dint ofseeing around him other little creaturesthat, like himself, had wearied for theirnative wilds, then little by little hadgrown reconciled to their fate, and nowseemed to get a prodigious amountof fun out of their new life, he madethe best of the bars, the tainted air ofthe booth, and the clown’s grimaces,rehearsing his drolleries before theanimals’ cages.
At the same time he could neverquite share the gaiety of his companionsin misfortune. While theywere enjoying everlasting games ofhide-and-seek, scuffling, squabbling,pelting each other with nuts, he wouldcower timidly in a corner, too sad atheart to join in their noisy merriment.Sometimes, when his feelings grew toomuch for him, he would break out ina series of sharp, shrill outcries, orwail like a new-born babe in his dolefuldespair.
The master was very fond of him,for he was both intelligent and teachable.In a very short time he learnedto do his musket drill, to walk theslack-rope, and use the spring-board.But these accomplishments only earnedhim the ill-will of the other pupils.There was never a prank they did notplay him.