The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-28
SAVED BY THE GIRAFFE. .
The simple Little Thing That Restored Pros
perIty to tho Circus.

perIty to tho Circus.
"a man never can tell when his luck is go
ing to strike him, or in what shape 1t Is going
to strike him" said tho old circus man. Hero
we'd been going along through tho country to
poor business for q week, not making money
enough to buy hay for the animals, when one
day something happened that filled tho whole
countryside with talk about us and brought
more people to.abe show than We had room for.
and it was the simplest little no-account thing
you ever heard OF, which just shows, too, how
generously tho people respond IL you happen to
catch their fancy.
There was a small boy up a tree alongside
his fathers house on a country road after o
birds nest. He crept out further and further
on the branch that the nest was on, which ex.
tended well over tho house. You've often seen
such trees. no doubt. Just rs he was reaching
out for the nest, when he'd finally got within
reach Of 1t. his grip slipped and away he went,
not on the roof. or down on the ground, but. by
snakes! down the kitchen chimney. exactly
over which he happened to be at the time he
lost his hold. There was q rafting of SCOT ON
the pipe Of the stove in the kitchen below that
told the farmers wife and the hired girl that
there was something the matter in the chimney
and the moaning that came from there present.
ly told them what it was. And the farmer him
self was away, in q distant field, and there
ulun I beem 10 DC q lauQer IN the county.
ing further and further out on tn, Limb Of tie
tree there was coming along the road. bound for
pened that the head Of the column reached tie
hired siri rushed saiS rs out ip1 into l4'T tSe : road @a0 ffs old old
man was riding at the head of the column, az
to, the front Of the house and asked the lady
what was the matter, and she told him as wen
as she could In her excitement.
'tuF old man wal n man that RnatU nm nm.
poEtqnity when he saw it-;which is a great git.
Madam he said. in his most polite man;
Jury Ara T6eellns bis horse. he says to me:
That was when We had tho great eighteen
t COZ sirsie. and and on the road r% the giraffe cage
We hurried back and got the giraffe out and
up to the front as soon as we could, and along
side the extension that the kitchen was in.
IT was the middle of summer, and they were
burning wood In the stove, and the middle Of
the boys situation seemed dreadful all the same
VEL. we got the giraffe alongside the house
II he didn't seem to understand. and he crooks
his long neck oyer the top OF the chimney and
head again out Of the chimney "guiiiai t In s1 the b ms
with him. his teeth gripping in the boys coat
''That's all there was to IL. But just as the
glrafe was lifting the boy clear Of the top of
the chimney. tho boys father, was coming
OF the neighbors gathered around by this time,
and there was the circus men standing around,
and the Cages halted along the road, and when
the big giraffe bent his long neck and placed tho
rescued youngster in his mothers arms, the old
man, who was sitting ON his horse In front,
took of his hat, SO that, simple as it all was,
i, II made quite n little tableau after all.
At"Nhen We. showed that afternoon tho tent
wouldn't hold the people, and 1t was the same
at night, 1t seems that tho hoy was a hand
some and clever boy. that everybody liked, and
20 the rescue was all the moro popular. OF
course. the old man sent, the whole family
tickets, and lac got ON 10 let tho LITTLE chap
ride around the ring on the CRATES back. DID
that get emf numph! II was n month before
the people In that part OF the country stopped
from the chimney"