THOUGHT CAPACITY IN ANIMALS 11 



' glein ' (a Herr Klein, whom he had not seen for two 

 years) ; further, ' ogl Isr ' (Herr Landsgerichtsrat 

 Leser). When, however, he was asked by a gentle- 

 man sitting in the front row whether he knew him 

 (the gentleman in question had sent him notes from 

 time to time), he replied : ' lol nid wisn " (Lol doesn't 

 know). (N. B. Rolf is in the habit of referring to himself 

 as ' Lol.') 



" In order to subject him to an unexpected test I 

 had brought with me a box containing a ' may-bug ' 

 made of papier mach6, the inside of which was filled 

 with biscuits. After Frau Dr. Moekel had retired 

 from the platform I opened my box and showed it 

 to Rolf. He pushed his nose into it, exhibiting 

 marked interest and seemed impatient to communicate 

 the matter to his mistress, therefore without more ado 

 he spelt out : ' maigfr in sagdl, inn was dsm sn " 

 (i.e., ' Maikafer in der Schachtel ; innen was zu 

 essen ') (May-bug in box ; inside something to eat), 

 adding, presumably as an after-thought, ' nid gef- 

 ressn " (nicht gefressen ; didn't eat it!). Rolf had 

 therefore recognised the biscuits inside the may-bug 

 by their smell only and was anxious that she should 

 know that they hadn't been given him to eat ! After 

 this a gentleman in the audience asked permission to 

 put a secret test. The object selected was shown to 

 the dog in such a manner that his mistress had to turn 

 aside so as not to see it. But Rolf had become 

 obstinate and refused to name the thing, and he 

 insisted on spelling out : ' nid, lol rgrd der wisd man ' ; 

 he appeared to be ' geargert ' by the ' wiiste man ' 

 (worried, or vexed by the rough man) and it may, 

 indeed, have' been that the dog sensed a certain dis- 

 trust of his mistress, or that, as is often the case with 

 other dogs, that he was reluctant to ' show off ' at the 



