146 
ALMOST HUMAN 
There is a double fence running the whole length of their paddock, 
and it is there to protect the public from any sudden impulse of savagery 
on the part of the male ostrich. He is a most rapacious bird, and in 
his ungovernable eagerness to snatch a proffered dainty he is quite 
capable of seizing the hand with it. • These two seem happy enough 
there, and the female lays eggs and sits on them well, but she has never 
succeeded in hatching a single chick, 
FRIGHTENED OF A BIRD! 
The male ostrich has an invincible hatred of dungarees. If any 
man passes by his fence in these objectionable blue clothes, he gets 
furious, and spreads both wings as he rushes up and down in a vain 
attempt to get at him. It is probable that they remind him only too 
forcibly of a day when life grew very strenuous for an hour. 
Two fish ponds had been dug in his paddock and built around with 
bluestone. They were to be used for hatching trout to stock our rivers. 
After they were finished the plumber was requested to connect the ponds 
with the water mains outside. He was a very little man, and was not 
anxious .to undertake the task. He did not like the look of the ostrich’s 
claws should he wish to come to conclusions, and he was by no means sure 
that the bird was perfectly tame. However, as day succeeded day and 
nothing happened he got used to his surroundings, as one gets used to 
anything. When he had almost finished his task, he happened to look 
up to the bank of the pond, and to his blank dismay he saw the bird parad- 
ing around it, evidently in search of a safe place to descend. Terrified, 
the poor man did the only thing that occurred to him at the moment, and 
as he screamed for help he snatched up a couple of bags and threw them 
over himself, and then crouched down close to the ground, huddled up 
into as compact a bundle as he could make of himself. 
Mr. Wilkie had heard his cry, and as he was on the way to supervise 
the plumber’s work, he soon reached the spot. Seeing the ostrich stalk- 
ing around the edge of the pond, he guessed there was something rotten 
in the State of Denmark, and hastily broke off a large bough from a tree 
as he ran to investigate. Such a weapon is the best of all against an 
ostrich, for if it be shaken in his face the bird will get hopelessly con- 
fused and forget all about the mischief on hand in his desire to escape 
from it. As soon as the bird saw the well-known figure coming towards 
him so formidably armed he dashed off into safety, and so there was 
no hindrance to the rescuer getting across to the pond. When Mr, Wilkie 
looked down, the sight that met his gaze was so comical that he could 
