44 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



from the boy's point of view, we shall be better able to interest 

 and amuse, bring home to the young people a correct understanding, 

 and get into clearer focus that distant horizon which the average 

 boy only dimly perceives. 



Having agreed, then, that it is good for boys to have pets — 

 provided always that their acquaintances are treated with every care 

 and consideration— we will shortly consider some of the world's 

 animals that make a special appeal. Is it not interesting to notice 

 how boys' tastes differ in regard to pets ? 



Some boys I know utter exclamations of disgust at the sight 

 of a Rat, Lizard, or Snake ; others, less timorous, perhaps, than 

 their fellows, simply revel in handling these creatures, and possess 

 a real love for their captive friends ; while birds they all seem to 

 love, and rightly so. I met a boy in a railway train not long ago 

 who was caressing in a most delightful way a warty old Toad which 

 he had captured as the result of a half-day spent in the country. 

 All other sights and sounds paled into insignificance in that boy's 

 estimation. The tea he had was good — he remembered that — and 

 the ride in the brake was enjoyable. The flowers, birds and insects 

 appealed to him in a way, and he had a distinct recollection of some 

 tall trees in which some sable Rooks had built their nursery homes, 

 and he longed to climb the dizzy heights. There was also a waterfall 

 which attracted attention, and other features of which he had a dim 

 recollection, but all these were meaningless to him, and his chief 

 delight was centred in the capture of an old Toad. 



It was good to see this urchin from Slumland fondling one of our 

 most useful and interesting British animals, although probably a 

 death from starvation came eventually to the little stranger. Advice 

 as to the best methods of keeping it proved in all probability of little 

 or no avail ; the boy seemed to realize that the Toad belonged 

 exclusively to him. It had, as it were, been made for him, and his 

 love for it was so inherent that he could not believe that in the 

 immediate future the inanimate form of the Batrachian would be 

 his sole possession. 



These little incidents are cram-full of interest to those who look 

 at them aright, and by making comparisons as to the pets which 

 appeal to boys, and why and how, one is able to come to some 

 interesting conclusions, the importance of which all those who are 

 engaged in the upbringing of our children cannot fail to recognize. 



Agreeing, then, that for some unaccountable reason a pet which 



