Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-30
LITTLE OPPORTUNITIES.

| LITTLE OPPORTUNITIES.
Very few of us have opportunities 10 do
great things, but we all may be kind and
loving to those about US, and can never
tell how far our kind words and loving
acts may reach. The Youths Temperance
| Banner gives an incident which proves that
| great good sometimes grows out of small
actions.
Zoa Rodman, as she practiced her music
day after day, noticed a tiny, poorly-clad
child hanging around the gaic.
Who is ?" she asked and why does
she Gomez"
"She is charmed, think, replied her
aunt, laughing. Her name is Maggie
Sherman, and her poor father is one of
the victims of drink" she added more
soberly. Poor little thing it is too bad.n
Zoa went to the door.
Come in, little Maggie" she said
kindly.
The child could hardly credit her senses
The beautiful young lady, who sang SO like
an angel, had spoken to her-had asked
| her to come in
| She entered shyly.
Are you fond of music ?" Zoa asked.
80, yes" she answered " l do love it
So"
And can you sing"
A little-some of the pretty songs you
sing" said the child.
~ am glad to sing for YOU won't you
let me hear you sing?' said the beautiful
young lady.
Little Maggie commenced with trem-
bling voice, for she felt like one in dream;
but as she sang on the music took posses
sion of her, and she trilled and warbled
like bird
Thank YOU" said Zoa, would you
like to have me teach you to sing and play,
Maggie?'
20! O. would you? But 1 have no
money"
No; and do not offer TO teach you for
money. Only come to me every day, and
will teach you what / can"
When Maggie Sherman few years later
| became noted singer and musician, and
! lifted her fathers family to responsibility
and comfort, it was not generally known
that all their happiness arose from the
/ kindness of Zoa Rodman.
ABOUT STAR FISHES.
An extract from letter says: We have
had several interesting trips to the beach
and rocks at Swampscott and Lynn. Ny
sister has a little class which is studying
the curiosities of sea-creatures" in gen.
eral, so we have the benefit of the low tide
researches, and consequent introductions
to various kinds of sea life new to us.
never saw star-tishes by the peck until our
last trip, few days ago, although l thought
myself no stranger to them before. Every
cleft of the rocks nearest the water was full
of them. The under side of the rocks
seemed sort of gymnasium, where they
were hanging gracefully (?) in all sorts of
attitudes, by the tip Of one point or two, or
bumped up in bunch, or doubled over on
| ei
studied and careless. We made a dis
covery that day. We had known that if a
star-ish had lost one of his five points in
battle, it would grow out again, even
though torn out from the very center; but
that morning found point torn off from
close to the center, at the stub end of which
the rest of the star-fish was growing out
new The innumerabe little legs were
walking off with that solitary point so
cheerfully that l was moved to pick it off
the rock, and could hardly believe my eyes
when l saw the other four points distinctly
forming. "As many lives as a cat might
be varied by saying, :" AS many lives as a
starfish n' Aunt Lu concluded it could
only be so in this particular case, because
the point in being torn off had retained the
madrepore-a tiny, reddish spot, like q
sieve, through which the creature irrigates
his system If one OF the points had been
taken from the side on which this spot was
not it would not have been likely to live.
THE sLoTH.
There are two different kinds of the sloth,
distinguished from each other by their claws
lone called the unau, which has only two
claws upon each foot, and being without a
tail the other, which is called the al, hav-
ing tail, and three claws upon each foot.
The unau has longer snout, the ear more
apparent and the fur very different from
the other. 1t differs also in the number of
ribs; it has 46 while the al has but %.
They are very slow in their movements; it
often takes them a week in crawling To a
tree not so yards distant All motions
seem to torture them; every step it takes
it will set forth a melancholy cry The al
from which | shall take my description,
and from which the other differs only in
the slight particulars above mentioned,
and being more active, is of the size of the
badger. Its fur is coarse and staring, some
what resembling dried grass. The tail is
very short, the mouth extending from ear
to ear, the eyes dull and heavy. 1t has
four stomachs.-Edi II. Shar IL Rural
Press.
MONKEY SLAVES.
Perhaps the only attempts which have
been made to civiiize the monkey have
been in Malabar, India. a fine species, IN
digenous in this quarter, is the neilgdepy
langur. The natives here have tanning
machines called the punka. In other DAYS
the punka, which consists Of movable
frame covered with canvas and suspended
from the ceiling, was kept in motion by a
slave pulling a cord. An English officer
conceived the idea of teaching the langur
to do the work. He took one of the spe-
cies and tied its hand TO the cord, while, by
means of another cord, the machine was
kept in motion. The movement of the
cord is up and down, and, Of course, the
monkeys hands, being tied, went Up and
down, and the animal saw the motion OF
the machine. It's master patted its head,
and fed it with candy, and the langur soon
learned to think ii fun to work the MA
chine. When | was in Maabar securing
specimens of this species. | saw thousands
of them working the punka, the Indians
| haviDp nm odi1telv cut tho animals in