224 
ALMOST HUMAN 
such a goose as to follow them blindly wherever they rushed. He cut 
off angles, crossed corners, and darted like lightning, first at one bird 
and then at the other until they were ready to die of fright. They tried 
their hardest to trample on him each time they felt a bite dealt savagely 
at their heels, but he was not to be caught in any such clumsy way. He 
was off at a tangent while the foot was being lifted, and was at the heel 
of the next one before the other knew he was gone. What would have 
happened if the keepers had not arrived in time to prevent further mis- 
chief is hard to say, but it is not at all unlikely that there would have 
been a little funeral. The exhausted ostriches gave up the flight as soon 
as their rescuers appeared, but the goose was game for many a mile, 
and it took a long while to corner him in the extensive grounds and carry 
him off in ignominious bondage. 
In desperation they shut him in a place by himself. Here, for a long 
while, he had time to meditate upon his sins, and to seek for a chance 
to break into his neighbors’ home. These neighbors happened to be the 
twenty or thirty fine eagles that live near the entrance to the gardens. 
The goose was determined not to be beaten in his endeavors to poke his 
nose into their business, and one unlucky day he succeeded in gaining his 
end. The eagles at once swooped down upon the rash intruder, and in 
a very short time there was nothing left to tell the tale of that untimely 
visit but a number of beautiful dove-grey feathers scattered over the 
ground. 
THE GAME OF HOP, SKIP, AND JUMP. 
When the next Cape Barren goose arrived at the gardens they knew 
more about the habits of these mild-looking birds, and were better 
prepared for surprises. But as the gentleman was accompanied by a 
charming wife they thought that the steadying and refining influence of 
her society would prevent a repetition of the bachelor’s capers. There 
were a number of desirable bird comforts, such as roosts and nesting 
places, in the great paddock occupied by the red kangaroos, and as Mr. 
IjO Souef hoped they would settle down to domestic routine and rear a 
family in the approved style of the most reputable citizens, they were 
put in there. For a time all went well, but the hopping of the kangaroos 
proved irresistible to Mr. Cape Barren. The two geese had been chat- 
tering incessantly to each other since their arrival. He, doubtless, had 
been bragging of what he would do when the time came to show his 
prowess, and it is believed that she challenged him to prove that his 
valor was not of the same kind as a carpet knight’s. One day, at all 
events, when the kangaroos were giving an exhibition of fancy hopping. 
