136 THE ADVENTURES OF 



"Because it was a coward." 



" But both have the same plumage, and almost the same shape;- 

 I took the small bird to be the young of the other." 



" The last is a falcon, and the other is a kite. They belong, 

 in fact, to the same family ; but the falcon is noble and 

 courageous, whilst the kite is perhaps the most cowardly of all 

 birds of prey. Falcons were once used for hunting ; for, as 

 you have just seen, they have no fear of attacking adversaries 

 much larger than themselves. Added to this, they are easily 

 tamed." 



" But eagles are much stronger than falcons'?" 



" Eagles are birds of prey which do not at all merit the repu- 

 tation which poets have endeavoured to make for them ; although 

 they may be stronger, they exhibit much less bravery than falcons, 

 and only attack animals of small size." 



" Yet, surely the eagle is the king of birds ; is it not able to 

 look straight at the sun?" 



" Yes ; thanks to a membrane that shuts down over the pupil 

 of its eye. Among all nations, the eagle is the symbol of 

 strength and courage ; but still the falcon possesses the latter of 

 these qualities in a much higher degree ; it is the falcon which 

 is the real king of birds among ornithologists. The Mexicans, 

 as you know, depict upon their banners an eagle sitting upon a 

 cactus and tearing a serpent." 



"Is this intended as an emblem of strength and courage?" 



" No, it has another origin. When the Aztecs, who were 

 thought to be natives of Northern America, arrived in Mexico 

 (which then bore the name of Anahuac), they wandered about a 

 long time before they settled. One day, near a lake, they found 

 a cactus growing on a stone, and on the cactus an eagle was 

 sitting. Guided by an oracle, a city was built, which was called 

 Tenochtitlan, and subsequently Mexico." 



My historical lecture was interrupted by a distant shot. We 

 had heard nothing of the doves for a long time, and we were 

 expecting to see our companion reappear ; but he must have made 

 an enormous curve in pursuing them, to judge from the direction 

 from which the report of his gun proceeded. Fortunately, from 



