The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-15
THE sToRK AND THE LION.
A Bird Covers the King of Beasts
After a Brief Encounter.

!
After Brief Encounter.
Baron Stein of Poppelsdorf near Bonn,
Germany, is an amateur animal tanner,
and has for his amusement a small men
agerie in park adjoining the old sum-
mer residence of the Cologne electoral
princes in Poppelsdorf, says the New
York Press. Among other wild beasts,
he owns five African lions, from two to
six years old. They were raised with hy-
enaS, with whom they live on good terms,
though occasionally one of the big cats
knocks a hyena down and scratches its
face, just to show who is boss of the
cage.
he could, the baron decided to introduce a
novelty into the performance which he is
in the habit of giving before an admir1ng
circle of friends. An old white stork
named Fritz has lived for years on the
as he was raised in the baron's poultry
yard, never has INDUCED in the migrat-
DRY habits of his kind
Fritz, who is four feet tall and has a
bill more than seven inches long, was
kept in the big training cage alone for a
week, to accustom him to it. on the
| tenth day of his Imprisonment the lion
cage was rolled up to the cage.
Fritz viewed the lions with healthy cur
iosity, but without the least alarm. Fam
pa, a two-year-old lion, was the first to
I be QrlNen INTO the cage WIFI the DlIu
He looked at Fritz for second or two
and then tried to crawl back to his fam
| lily, tail first; but, finding the means OF
! egress locked, he raised himself to his
| fun height and uttered a defiant roar.
! At this the stork's neck feathers bris-
tied. He lifted his bill in protest, clap
| pering' as only stork can.
| The strange noise upset Tampa self
| confidence. He stood still and ropped his
| tail sadly. But the blood of his fathers
| rose in him again, and, whipping his
| TANKS with his tail, he cautiously adj
vanced on the enemy, covering occasion
ally, as If preparing to spring.
] The stork viewed these Warlike prepar
atoms with increasing anger, and his bill
worked like castanets Standing for a sec
| ond on his strong middle toes, he RAISED
his wings and aimed as if about to hit th'
/ lion in the eye.
The lion hesitated again, and was lost
! The stork flew at him ana bored his sharl
| beak into his adversary's nose, which be
| gan to bleed. AS the bird stepped back t
! prepare for another onslaught lamp;
turned swiftly, and, forgetful in his be
wilderment from which side he had en-
| tered, jumped to the other side of tn
| cage and covered there.
Fritz had no taste for pursuing hi
| vanquished foe. Leaving the rear part o
/ the cage to the lion, he marked off the ex
tent of his own territory by walking VI
| and down straight line, which limited
his sphere of influence to about three
quarters of the total area. Within thi
space he strutted a conquering hero.
Zampa's brother, three years old, thel
was sent into the cage. He showed ii
turn establishment a disposition 70
fight and a half-hearted defiance. TIL
stork, on his part tried to keep out o
fight as long as he could, and FINAL!
turned his back upon his foe.
The lion couldn't let that opportunit!
pass without trying to profit by it. HI
was about to spring upon the stork, whei
the latter wheeled about with incredible
! swiftness and hit the lion in the face
| drawing blood. Zampa's brother ran a
! once. He had enough.
! Lion No. Jared no better than his pre-
/ decessors. The two remaining lions, how
4 ever, had more perseverance Each re
I turned to the attack after being punish
ed once, and in consequence Fritz bleC
| each twice after which they ran away a!
fast as the others had done.
On the next day the two biggest lions
! were sent into the stork's cage again
Fritz awaited them, with his bach
| against the wall, and each had to re
tire, bearing the mark of his bill on his
! countenance.
For the last week the lions have spent
! their days with Fritz in the training
cage The bird still holds the front hall
of the cage. and the five cowed lions oc
cuDy the rear The two contending par.
! ties take their meals separately, anC
seem to pay no attention to each other
I Only the fact that Fritz always walks
! with his tail to the bars indicates that
there has been trouble.