98 LITTLE FOLKS 
AN AFRICAN NINE FEET HIGH. 
A splendid fellow he is, too, weighing sometimes three hun- 
dred pounds, and strong enough to kill a panther with one blow. 
Perhaps you think one of that size must be clumsy, but he is very 
far from that. He can run ever so much faster than a horse, 
twelve or fourteen feet at a leap. 
Is that hard to believe ? Perhaps it will be easier when I tell 
you that he isn't a man — but an Ostrich. 
No doubt you have seen that foolish story about him, that 
when he is pursued by men he sticks his head in the sand and 
thinks he is hidden. That is a base slander. He is not so stupid 
as that. On the contrary, he is very cunning. He has no need of 
strategy himself to get away from a man, for his long legs — as I 
said — carry him off faster than the fastest horse. But when he 
has a young family to protect, it is different The whole family go 
out together — Father, Mother, and all the little ones — lots of them 
there are, too. 
Unfortunately for the Ostrich, nature has adorned his wings 
and tail with exquisite feathers, which you girls delight to put on 
your hats, and so men go out to hunt the poor creatures. They 
are very shy, and hard to get at, but if the hunter does manage to 
get near enough to shoot, no sooner does Papa Ostrich catch sight 
of him than he sends Mamma and the children off at full speed, 
while he runs the other way and rolls on the ground as though he 
was hurt. 
Of course the hunter rushes towards him, thinking he can 
easily catch him, and he is the most desirable anyway, for the 
little ones have not the valuable feathers. After the family have 
got a good start, and before the hunter gets too near, the cunning 
bird springs suddenly to his feet, and fairly skims over the ground. 
Another way of hunting them, practiced by the natives, is 
very funny. One of them puts an Ostrich skin on to a sort of 
cushion which he takes on his shoulders. Through the long neck 
of the bird he thrusts a limber stick, holding one end in his hand, 
his black legs he whitens, and thus dressed he walks out towards 
