Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-24
CREATURES THAT ARE FUNNY.
Birds, Beasts and Fishes Which Play Comi,
Parts in Life.

Birds, Beasts and Fishes Which Play Comic
Parts in Life.
es7NHERE ARE CERTAIN ANIMALS in the
Il various forms Of animate existence which
seem to have been singled out, for reasons not
altogether easy Of comprehension. as repre-
senting the comic side Of creation" said nat
uralist to writer for The STAR the other day.
"For example, take the batrachians. In that
family OF creatures the frog is the comedian,
and in this capacity he serves most proftably
the purposes of the caricaturist. Quite as dis
tinguished humorousiy among the birds is the
OWL So universally is the essential funniness
Of the owl and the frog recognized that it is
difficult to see how the makers of comic pic
lures could get along without them at ALL The
Japanese, people highly gifted with the sense
Of humor, never tire of employing both in
their art Go into any Japanese shop and you
will find the frog and the owl figuring everv-
where in designs and in the shape Of absurd
toys of all sorts of materials from china to
| cotton batting, some Of them equipped with
the gift of making strange noises and
grimaces and even of hopping around Even
the children are fond Of making funny little
owls out of peanuts and mounting them in
row on twigs. Wherever bullfrogs are to be
seen alive in restaurant windows, waiting to be
cooked and eaten, you will find spectators gath
cred about amusedly. Both owl and frog have
a way of gazing out upon the world with round.
unbEnking eyes, looking as if deeply engaged
in wise reflection, whereas presumably neither
of them is thinking of anything at all Per-
haps that has something to do with their sug-
gestion of the comic.
THE owl, like the bat, is commonly used in
the representation from a comic standpoint of
anything that is CHASTITY. This is evidently
because both arc night flyers, and therefore,
mysterious, gruesOme and suggestive of dark
ness and dread. The stork is q queer long
legged bird, but it is employed not in a humor-
Gus, but in a decorative way, at the suggestion
of the Japanese. Another funny fowl is the
goose, but You do not find il often used. as a
comic element in design.
''Three Misunderstanding the bat ont of the
question-have been chosen to represent the
comic in their order. These are the mule, the
goat and monkey. The last is sufficiently
absurd in all his ways, particularly through the
likeness he bears to man, 10 account for his
selection. As for the mule, suppose that its
fractions disposition is accountable, while the
goats indiscriminate appetite is enough to ex-
comic bird that forgot to mention, namely,
the parrot, whose powers Of speech render il
humorous. And, now that / think of it. the
crow and the raven are funny for the same
reason, as we'll - for their nonsensical thieyinQ
propensities.
Among the reptiles you find the alligator or
crocodile regarded in comic light. The octo-
| crab and lobster make the fun in behalf of the
cruseaceans. All these creatures are considered
| ~ more or less absurd by the superior animal
man.. who. though classified by Linneus a.
homo :.pisns,' i usually good deal Of fool
himself"