THE ASS. 
51 
well as to procure their food. Now the Zebra has neither ( 
trunk, horns, teeth nor claws to defend himself with; j 
but instead of these, he is endowed with such a degree 
of swiftness, that he could escape, when any, or all 
these animals would be taken. 
Let us, then, admire the wisdom and goodness of God, ' 
in giving each creature he has made, those qualities , 
which they most want, and those peculiar parts, which j 
are most useful to them, in the situations in which they , 
are placed. 
ANECDOTES. \ 
The Zebra is so little known out of the country where 
he is found, that we cannot amuse our young friends 
with many stories about him. Only a few persons have \ 
taken the pains to tell us how this animal behaves, either 
wild or tame. 
Mr. Buffon says, that he saw a Zebra in Paris, and 
that when the animal came there, he was extremely 
wild and fierce, but that afterwards, he became a little 
more tame, so that, when two men held him by the bri¬ 
dle, another man would venture to get upon his back. 
This creature could not be any further tamed, either by ( 
severity or kindness, for though kept long afterwards, 
he never would let any one sit on his back quietly, or 
without being held by two other men. He was very 
strong, and his mouth was so hard, that the person who 
sat on him, could not in the least guide him by the bridle. 
His ears could not be touched without making him quite 
angry, and when anything touched them, he would toss 
his head with great violence, like a restless, vicious horse. ) 
This animal was stubborn, and willful in all his ways, ! 
and neither whipping nor kindness, seemed in the least 
to do him good, or make him behave any better. 
Mr. Pyrard says, that when he was in South America, ; 
he saw two animals, which in shape looked like mules, - 
but that they were not mules, for their colors were very < 
beautiful. Their hair was short, smooth and shining, 
like velvet. Their color was black and white, running 
in bands, or stripes. These stripes not only covered the 
body, but the legs, ears, face and tail, so that these crea¬ 
tures made a very elegant and beautiful appearance. 
These animals were very fierce, and vicious, and never 
can be fully tamed. They came from Africa, and were, 
to be sent, as a present, to the king of Spain. They ' 
were taken, when quite young, and were a little tamed, 
but still nobody dared to go near them but their keeper. 
These animals were called Zebras, and were such cruel j 
and ferocious beasts, that one of them, having broken 
his halter, got loose, and attacked his keeper with so 
much violence, that he killed him, before the other 
people could beat him away. They were kept tied up 
very close, but still their keeper was not safe, at all 
times, in going very near them, as they would sometimes 
bite him before he could jump out of the way. The 
poor keeper could show many scars, where these fero¬ 
cious beasts had torn his flesh with their teeth. 
Not a great many years since, the Zebra was so un¬ 
common an animal, that when one was taken, he was 
sometimes sent from one king, or prince, to another, as a 
valuable present. One of the governors of Batavia, it is 
said, sent a Zebra, as a present to the king of Japan. 
The king was so much delighted with such a fine pres¬ 
ent, that he gave the governor a present of sixty thousand 
dollars for him, and thus made him rich for a single 
Zebra. 
THE ASS. 
What kind of an animal is the Ass ? 
The Ass is an animal of the horse kind, but he is not 
so large as the horse. 
What is the shape of this animal ? 
His shape is similar to that of the horse and zebra, but 
he is not so handsome as either of these animals. 
What is his color ? 
His color is commonly dark brown, or nearly black, 
but he is sometimes light grey, or nearly white. 
In what country does he live ? 
This animal is to be found, in the domestic state, in 
almost every warm country in the world. But the finest 
come from Spain, where the greatest attention is paid to 
feeding these animals, and bringing them up. 
Is he a useful animal ? 
There are few animals more useful to man than the 
Ass. He is used in many countries as a beast of bur¬ 
then, and is the strongest and most patient of all crea¬ 
tures of his size. He is a very safe animal to ride on, 
being more sure footed, and less apt to fall than the 
horse. 
Does the Ass, like the horse, run wild ? 
Besides the tame Ass, there is a breed of wild ones., to 
be found in the forests of South America and Asia. 
These animals run in droves, and are very shy and 
timid. While the drove are feeding, one or two of the 
males take care of the rest of the herd, by keeping 
watch. If they see a man, one of the watch leaves the 
others and runs around the enemy, two or three times, 
coming nearer him every time, as if to find out what he 
has come for. He then goes and gives notice to the herd, 
when the whole scamper off into the woods with the 
greatest swiftness. 
Can the wild Ass be tamed ? 
These wild Asses are highly valued, as domestic ani¬ 
mals, whenever they are taken and tamed. But then- 
swiftness is such, that they cannot be caught by running, 
and their sense of smell is so nice, that they scent the 
