ROW MUCH ANIMALS KNOW. 43 



dearino- names, allowed it to twine itself most gracefully round about 

 them. I sat talking for a long time, lost in wonder at the picture be- 

 fore me. Two beautiful little girls and their charming mother sat 

 before me with a boa-constrictor (as thick as a small tree) twining 

 playfully round the lady's waist and neck, and forming a kind of tur- 

 ban round her head, expecting to be petted and made much of like a 

 kitten. The children, over and over again, took its head in their 

 hands and kissed its mouth, pushing aside its forked tongue in doing 

 so. The animal seemed much pleased, but kept turning its head con- 

 tinually toward me w T ith a curious gaze, until I allowed it to nestle its 

 head for a moment up my sleeve. Nothing could be prettier than to 



see this splendid serpent coiled all round Mrs. M while she moved 



about the room and when she stood to pour out our coffee. He 

 seemed to adjust his weight so nicely, and every coil with its beauti- 

 ful marking was relieved by the black velvet dress of the lady. It 

 was long before I could make up my mind to end the visit." 



Birds often show much ingenuity in attaining some desired end. 

 Several stories are told of geese which show that they are by no means 

 such scant-witted fowls as the common use of their name implies. 

 Thus at Ardglass, county Down, Ireland, is a long tract of turf com- 

 ing to the edge of the rocks overhanging the sea, where cattle and 

 seese feed : at a barn on this tract there was a low inclosure, with a 

 door fastening by a hook and staple to the side-post : when the hook 

 was out of the staple the door fell open by its own weight. One day 

 a goose with a large troop of goslings was seen coming off the turf 

 to this door, which was secured by the hook being in the staple. The 

 goose waited for a minute or two as if for the door to be opened, and 

 then turned round as if to go away, but what she did was to make a 

 rush at the door, and making a dart with her beak at the point of the 

 hook nearly threw it out of the staple ; she repeated this manoeuvre, 

 and succeeded at the third attempt, the door fell open, and the goose 

 led her troop in with a sound of triumphant chuckling. How had the 

 goose learned that the force of the rush was needful to give the hook 

 a sufficient toss ? 



The intelligence of crows is well attested by the following account 

 contributed by a lady : " In the inn-garden I saw a dog eating a piece 

 of carrion in the presence of several of these covetous birds. They 

 evidently said a great deal to each other on the subject, and now and 

 then one or two of them tried to pull the meat away from him, which 

 he resented. At last a big strong crow succeeded in tearing off a 

 piece, with which he returned to the pine where the others were con- 

 gregated, and after much earnest speech they all surrounded the dog, 

 and the leading bird dexterously dropped the small piece of meat 

 within reach of his mouth, when he immediately snapped at it, letting 

 go the big piece unwisely for a second, on which two of the crows 

 flew away with it to the pine, and with much fluttering and hilarity 



