The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-05-28

It's nerves have not been shaken-that
| is evident from its obvious self-posses-
sion. and the way II scratches its head
and makes a note Of the fly which went
by. II would not commence at once
a frivilouS alteration with another
OF its kind If it had been disconnected.
And really, il is not TO be wondered
at that the sparrow should be beyond
the reach of establishment. Think OF
| what il sees, and sees quite unconcern-
eddy, in the streets of London. Put a
| tiger into Fleet street, or a bear at the
bank, and the poor beasts would go
crazy with terror. A single omnibus
would stampede q a troop OF lions Yet
| a sparrow surveys the approaching fire
engines Uldismayed, and il sits with
its back 10 the street when a runaway
van comes laundering down Ludgate
HILL The small birds life is, in fact.
so made up Of surprises that il regards
the astounding as commonplace. So
ny, sitting down IN a train, thinks
nothing of finding itself in the next
county when It gets up. Its whole ex-
istence is volcanic and seismic II can
not settle on a hand without the hand
moving. What would a dog think if.
on going into a ten-acre field. the field
suddenly turned over? But the fly is
not put out Of countenanee by such
phenomena" II comes back TO the
hand again 1t is the same with the
sparrow. II thinks no more of an
other wonder than the Seven Champi-
ons did of an extra dragon in the
days work
All the same / have seen a sparrow
totally COMPOUNDED and all TO pieces.
1t was, I confess, only a young one.
with just the promise of tail. nothing
more; and some odds and ends of fun
still ciinging between the red feathers.
l was looking at the rhinoceros, which
was lying down close TO the ratings,
and very sleepy one It was. Except
for slight twitches of the tail and an
occasional fidget OF the ears, il was
quite motionless. And the young spar
row hopping about in the enclosure,
coming 10 the beast, hoped on 10 ii,
looking into the chinks OF its skin for
chance grains or insects And il hop
ped all along Its back onto its head,
(the rhinoceros winked) and along its
head on TO the little horn, and from
the little horn on to the big one land it
blinked), and then off the horn on to
its nose. And then the rhinoceros
snorted- The sparrow was a sight to
see. EAptOOcQ - no worn Tor IL. Ana
it sat all in a heap on the corner Of the
house. and chirped the mournfuiest
chirps. Il hadn't the smallest notion
the thing was alive it said, "Oh, deari
Oh, dear" and it wouldn't be pacified
for long time. Its establishment had
been severe and had got into the sys-
tenn remembered the story of the
boy who sat on the whaIe's bIow-hole
Behemoth had got stranded on the
Shetland coast. While the population
We're admiring it. an urchin climbed
on to the head of the distressful mon
ster, and exultantly seated his gracious
person on its forehead. He had but
a short time 10 enjoy his triumph, and
the next instant the whale, filing itself
with air, blew suca a blast through its
blow-hole that the boy was blown up
in TO the air and out to sea. So said
the veracious chronicier of the day
and hope it was true, for little boys
should not, under any circumstances,
sit on the blow-hole Of whales. Nor
young sparrows on the nostrils of a
rhinoceros.-English Illustrated Maya
zine.