The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-25
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
The Fate of the King Who Would Eat Birds
of Paradise.
Brooklyn Union.

Brooklyn, Cnlon.
King Gorbustes ordered breakfast.
King Gorbustes was in the habit of eating his
breakfast every morning in the year like any
body else, so to most people this statement would
seem to be the commOnest of events; but it was
not so with this king, because there always was
an immense amount of trouble and fuss attend
ing every meal King GOrbustes set down to.
The King began with an omelet made of ostrich
eggs, then came the smoked iowl of a wild boar.
then a fricasee OF ortolans, ana after that NUT
ton chops from parsley-fed sheep, and. lastly a
ragout of frogs livers. All these dishes
to procure, but the Prime Min
lister of the kingdom was the head
caterer, and after him in dignity came the chief
cook. AS they both were daily in dread of los
ing their heads in case a single dish was badly
cooked, you may be very certain that King Cor
bustes was well fed. Ostriches were procured
from the Cape of Good Hope, and on marsh
lands the ~ortolans and frogs were kept, and in
the Kings forests the wild boars were raised,
and in certain meadows the parsley was grown
and the sheep were paS+""ed.
In an unlucky molnolt Gorbustes's Queen
wore a hat decorated with q bird of paradise,
and its plumage was so beautiful that the king
had at once an intolerable desire to eat it. He
must have a bird of paradise broiled on toast, so
he ordered a bird of paradise for the very next
days breakfast.
''Please, your most illustrious majesty" said
the caterer-in chief, excellent as may be a bird
of paradise, nicely peppered and sailed, split
and broiled, on toast, and done to a turn, pray
think how exceedingly difficult a fresh one
would be to procure. AS your Royal Highness
we'll knows, birds of paradise are only found on
the far distant islands of the South Pacific"
II don't know no such thing" said the king.
The fact was the Gorbustes was telling the
truth, for he didn't know. All his brains were
in his stomach. 1T is sufficient. Am to be
obeyed, or am l notl When | want anything at
once my wishes are to be complied with, and,
allow me to remark, that either them birds are
on toast tomorrow or your head goes off your
shoulder" and this ungrammatical and greedy
king helped himself to half the ostrich omelet,
remarking, that something must be done to
these here ostriches, for their eggs was a grow
ing smaller and more t~asteless every day"
You can imagine the dismay of the caterer-in-
chief when he impaired the news to the head
cook. They thought it all over and did not
know what to do.
The chief cook had in his employ a "scullion
whose talents had hitherto been devoted to the
compromising Of sauces and grayies. Once, hap
pening TO have made a mint sauce which Cor
bustus approved of, the scullion was in high
favor. AS cooking and cookery occupied the
highest posion in the kingdom, Tartmore was
both scullion and page to the Princess, King
Gorbustess only daughter.
The caterer and the cook put their heads to-
gether, fearful that they were soon to lose them;
in fact, the cook was in such grief that he was
crying. AS he was attending to the making Of a