THE STORK. 175 



cruel manner for the insult. Having recovered from 

 his wounds, he came to the poultry-yard, attended by 

 three other Storks, and no sooner had they alighted, 

 than they all four fell upon the tame Stork, and beat 

 him with such violence, that he died on the spot. 



The Stork was spoken of by the ancients with a 

 degree of respect bordering on veneration. Its name, 

 in the Hebrew language, signifies pious, or merciful, 

 and it was so named on account of the exemplary 

 care with which these birds watch over their aged 

 parents. 



This bird is mentioned in the 104th Psalm, verse 

 17. "As for the Stork, the fir trees are her house." 



It is believed, that there is not a reference in the 

 Scriptures, to any animal whose natural history is 

 known, but what is found to be strikingly appropriate 

 and true. In the present instance, the place inhabited 

 by the Stork is very properly called her house, since 

 it is built with much more than common care and 

 skill. 



In the East, where the sacred writer became ac- 

 quainted with the manners and habits of this bird, the 

 houses are built with flat roofs, and are occupied by 

 the inhabitants in the summer as sleeping places. 

 The Stork was therefore compelled to go to the forest, 

 where she built her nest in the fir tree, instead of 

 making it on the roofs of houses, as she does in Hol- 

 land, and in other countries. We have already stated, 

 that when this bird builds in the woods, she selects the 

 tallest trees for this purpose, and it is well known that 

 the fir, is one which answers this description. The 



