CHAPTER VIII 



GEESE 



People who are not familiar with animals often get wrong 

 ideas of the characters of certain creatures from the popular 

 metaphorical use of their names. Perhaps those who first applied 

 these metaphors understood them correctly, but after long use 

 by people acquainted with the metaphor but not familiar with the 

 animal to which it relates, a part of the meaning is likely to be 

 lost. This is what has happened to the term "goose" as applied 

 to a person. When one acts stupidly foolish about some little 

 thing he is often called a goose. Most people, associating the 

 idea of stupidity with the name of the goose, suppose that geese 

 are very stupid and uninteresting. If you will notice how the 

 term " goose " is commonly applied to persons, you will discover 

 that it is very rarely used except to apply to a person for whom 

 the speaker has a great deal of affection. Under the same cir- 

 cumstances others are more likely to be designated by some 

 harsher term. The most marked characteristic of a goose is 

 not stupidity but an affectionate disposition. The ancient Egyp- 

 tians noted this, and in their hieroglyphic writing a goose stood 

 for " son." The goose is a very intelligent and interesting bird. 

 It is of a most social nature and becomes very much attached 

 not only to its mates but to other animals and to people. No 

 domestic animal except the dog develops so much affection for 

 its master as a goose will if it is permitted to do so. But, while 

 interesting in some ways, the goose has so little of the other 

 qualities which lead man to make a companion and pet of an 

 animal, that its devotion is not usually encouraged. Commercially 

 geese and ducks belong to the same class and are used in the 



