FABLE AND FOLKLORE 55 



five were exhumed from an Etruscan tomb, ornamented 

 with bands of fantastic figures of animals either engraved 

 or painted on the shell, the incised lines filled with gold ; 

 what purpose they served, or whether any religious sig- 

 nificance was attached to them, is not known. Eggs are 

 still to be found in many Spanish churches hanging near 

 the Altar: they are usually goose-eggs, but may be a 

 reflection of the former Moorish liking for those of the 

 ostrich in their houses of worship. 



To return for a moment to the notion that the ostrich 

 breaks any eggs that become addled (by the way, how 

 could the bird know which were "gone bad" ?), let me add 

 a preposterous variation of this, quoted from a German 

 source by Goldsmith 32 in relation to the rhea, the South 

 American cousin of the ostrich — all, of course, arrant 

 nonsense: 



The male compels twenty or more females to lay their eggs 

 in one nest; he then, when they have done laying, chases them 

 away and places himself upon the eggs; however, he takes the 

 singular precaution of laying two of the number aside, which 

 he does not sit upon. When the young one comes forth these 

 two eggs are addled; which the male having foreseen, breaks 

 one and then the other, upon which multitudes of flies are 

 found to settle; and these supply the young brood with a 

 sufficiency of provision till they are able to shift for themselves. 



Another popular saying is: "I have the digestion of 

 an ostrich !" 



What does this mean? Ancient books went so far as 

 to say that ostriches subsisted on iron alone, although 

 they did not take the trouble to explain where in the 

 desert they could obtain this vigorous diet. A picture in 

 one of the Beast Books gives a recognizable sketch of 

 the bird with a great key in its bill and near by a horse- 



