THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
' 217 
“ In Egypt, where the great Nile River is, there are very 
many large crocodiles. As the crocodile, like all 
other reptiles, has cold blood, instead of warm blood 
such as we have, he is very fond of basking in the hot 
sun. He drags his great ugly body out of the water and 
lies on a sand-bank. 
“He is altogether too dangerous a fellow for any 
large animal to disturb, so it would seem as if he would 
be sure of ease and comfort; but it happens to him as 
it does to most of us, that trouble comes not from great 
things, but from many small ones. His little trials are 
of two kinds, leeches that cling to his gums and the 
other soft parts of his body, and gnats that swarm 
about him and sting him so that he would be almost 
crazy, but for a kind friend. 
“ This friend is a little bird called the trochilus. It 
no sooner sees the crocodile on the sand-bank than it at 
once flies to it and does all it can to pick away and eat 
all the tormenting leeches and gnats. More than this, 
is will awaken the crocodile should a man approach. 
“ And what is the reward for this kindness and atten¬ 
tion? Why, the ugly brute will snap up and swallow 
the good little bird at the very moment that it is striv¬ 
ing to relieve its sufferings. 
“ The crocodile lays her eggs in a hole in the hot sand 
and then goes away. The eggs may be broken, or de¬ 
stroyed, as they often are, by a little animal called the 
ichneumon ; but Mrs. Crocodile cares nothing for that. 
The little ones may hatch out and get to the water as 
best they may. 
“It must be said that the alligator, which is found 
only in North and South America, is a better mother than 
her cousin, the crocodile, which is found in this coun¬ 
try, but is most common in Africa and Asia. 
“The alligator goes to her eggs about the time she 
knows they ought to hatch, and when the little ones 
come out of the shell she leads them to the water and 
feeds them. 
“Although a very stupid creature, the alligator in some 
parts of South America knows that it can produce heat 
by putting damp leaves and other vegetable matter to¬ 
gether. A sort of fermentation is produced in this way, 
and the inside of the heap of leaves will become very 
warm. 
“ And this knowledge enables it to hatch its eggs. 
“There are several kinds of alligators and several kinds 
of crocodiles. They both have thick skin, long tails, 
long heads, four short legs, small eyes, no lips, and sharp 
white teeth. 
“ Fancy, if you have never seen a crocodile, how ugly 
he must look. His head is long enough, but as if he 
had not room enough in it for his mouth, that member 
stretches back of the head. This makes the creature 
seem to lift the top of its head when it opens its mouth. 
In truth, however, it cauuot lift its upper jaw any bet¬ 
tor than you can yours. As there are no lips to hide the 
glistening white teeth, the monster seems always to be 
wearing a wicked grin. 
“There is one respect in which the crocodile has the 
advantage of you. He never has the toothache. This 
is not because he does not eat candy, but because he 
never keeps his teeth long enough for any ache to catch 
them. 
“Ilis teeth are shaped like a cone, or sugar-loaf, with 
the part that sets in the jaw hollow. In this hollow 
place a new tooth is always growing, ready to be used 
as soon as the old one falls out. A dentist would have 
a very poor business among crocodiles. 
“Crocodiles usually live on fish and such other ani¬ 
mals as are to be found on or under the water; but when 
driven by hunger they will attack any creatui’e that 
comes near them. 
“ A traveler in India tells of a crocodile nearly twenty 
feet long that seized a tiger that came to drink at a pool 
in which it lay concealed. The tiger was a large and 
powerful beast, and fought furiously, but the crocodile 
contrived to drag it under water, when, of course, it 
was soon drowned. 
“ Sometimes these dreadful reptiles learn to like hu¬ 
man flesh. They are then called man-eaters, for they will 
try by every possible means to get their favorite food. 
“ In the winter season the alligators bury themselves 
in the mud, and sleep until warm weather comes again. 
This is what naturalists call hibernating. Many odd 
stories are told of accidents that occur to the people who 
live in the alligator countries, in consequence of this 
peculiar habit. 
“ In one case a party of hunters had camped out and 
built a fire to cook their supper. The fire was burning 
finely, and the supper was cooking and sending out a 
most savory odor, when one of the party, who was 
standing over the fire putting on some more wood, was 
suddenly thrown to the ground, the fire was scattered 
in all directions, and the supper overturned into the 
mud. 
“ The fire had been made on the back of a sleeping alli¬ 
gator who had, at last, been roused by the extreme heat 
and created all the commotion in his efforts to escape 
the torture. As he was as much frightened as the 
hunters, he made no attempt to revenge himself, but 
scuttled off as fast as he could, leaving the hunters star¬ 
ing at each other in astonishment. 
“ There is one result of this habit which is most singu¬ 
lar. While the alligator is bulled in the mud, seeds 
will sometimes fall on his back and sprout and take root 
there, obtaining a firm hold in the creases between the 
small plates that form the skin of the back. The growth 
of vegetation is very rapid in these warm countries, and 
consequently it will come about that the shrubs and 
plants will become thick and high. 
“ By-and-by, when the warm weather comes and the 
rivers fill up, the alligator, still very stupid, will rouse 
himself and go to the water, on the surface of which he 
will float for a long time before seeking food. Then it 
is that birds will settle upon these strange islands and 
pick up the worms and insects that have, unluckily for 
themselves, gone there to live. 
“ A French traveler, who knew nothing of this curious 
fact, was one day much surprised to see one of these 
islands, as he had thought it to be, suddenly glide away as 
he touched it with his oar, and finally sink out of sight. 
“ Of course the plants wash off as soon as the alligator 
becomes active and remains under water for any length 
of time.” 
There is inestimable blessing in a cheerful spirit. 
When the soul throws its windows wide open, letttng in 
the sunshine and presenting to all who see it the evi¬ 
dence of its gladness, it is not only happy, but it has an 
unspeakable power of doing good. To all the other 
beatitudes may be added, “ Blessed are the jov-mak- 
ers.” 
