OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19792, 12 November 1927, Page 4 (Supplement)

OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS.

In man true friendship long I strove to find, But missed my mm. . I found it in my dog most kind, Man! blusb for shame.

So wrote some unknown poet many years ago, snd thus wo find that even then dogs were favourite pets. These animals are most intelligent, and if treated kindly, will do almost anything for their master. Jack London, that , immortal writer, gives a splendid. instance of " Kindness is Bettor than the Stick," fn his book, '* White Fang." He tells of an animal, half wolf, half dog, a creature that had never felt tho cat'essing movement of a man's hand. When treated 'kindly he became another animal, quiet and docile, with a passionate love for his mister.! Horses are also favourite animals of jbo-diiy. These creatures are highly intelligent, for do they not train to dance and perform other marvellous feats for circuses ? These creatures all, also, have to be treated with great kindness. 1 once read of a horse which no one would* attempt to ride, becausß it was so vicious. At length a man with great courage advanced slowly toward tho horse.

In his banc! ho carried an applo and a piece of sugar. Ho spoke soothingly in the princely animal's silky ears. Then he jumped deftly on to his Did the creature rear and kick? No! ho trotted quietly round the field. Shy, timid little rabbits havo to be treated with great care. If neglected and treated unkindly, they will sicken and dio. I must say that these creatures are most happy when scampering in the fields. Though' these tiny creatures make charming pets, they are now becoming a constant nuisance to farmers. Doubtless, there are many other animals that we all love; but toeae are only a few.

The Saviour, when he was on earth, loved all animals We must try to be like Him, humble, gentle and kind. In all these we must remember our dumb friends, the animals.—Doreen Dcuglas, West Coast Road, Glen Eden (age 13 ye^rs).

A SHIPLOAD OP MONKEYS. A. queer cargo was carried to London by the steamship Mahronda. The vessel carried 1600 rhesus monkeys from India to bo distributed through various European menageries and zoos. — It is said to be the

biggest shipment of monkeys on record, and the little passengers consumed 3001b. of rice at every meal. Five babies were born on the voyage. Luckily there were no mutinies, but another ship. carrying wild animals was not so lucky. Mr. Robert Nelson, a marine engineer of Sutherland, has lately described his . experiences ' on that occasion. The ship was proceeding from the Dutch East Indies to New York, and during a storm some of the cages got damaged. Suddenly an orang-outang appeared in the engineroom with a coal hammer in his great hand. The engineers fled before him, and he proceeded to work havoc. Meanwhile the mate had been wakened by the entrance of a cobra, which writhed its way into his cabin and, when he fired a revolver at it, dived through the porthole into the sea. A valuable specimen was lost!

For a time the ship was all in confusion, for there were tigers and great apes in the collection, but at length the animals were captured arid the voyage was resumed without a casualty, except' for the cobra, which the mate refuses to think of as a loss to society! ,

A WELCOME GIFT. During the time of war in France, a soldier who had been taken prisoner and had escaped, hid in a hayloft. Not being a horso 01* a cow, he would have run great risk of starvation, but for a somewhat humorous circumstance. A barn-door fowl came daily to the spot and laid an egg near him. This, of course, the fugitive "commandeered," and it is quite possible that it saved his life, for many days elapsed before the enemy ' vacated tiie neighbourhood, and tha poor fellow dared not slibw his face.—From Irene Comes, 5, Crescent Road, Parnell (age 14).

"MY MAW." I used to have a cat called Maw„ who was trained from a kitten to sit in a doll's pram and bo dressed. One day I saw in the paper about a Plunket ball being held on Friday night, so I decided to take Maw and see how ho would behave. Mother said I could go as a Plunket nurse. Maw was dressed in a baby's robe, and had a dummy in his mouth. In the grand march, Maw kept bowing his head from side to side; he was a great favourite, and had his name in the paper for being tthe only cat ever been to a ball, but, I am sorry to say, ho met with an accident which ended iD his death; so thus I was parted from a cat what had been my pal for 3 years. —Betty Hartigan, G.P.0., Auckland.