Evening star., 1909-05-09
HIS BIG ZOO STORY
Ambitious Reporters Search
for Human-lnterest Material.
WIFE's EFFORTS TO ASSIST
Little Harry's Desires Complicate the
Undertaking.
INSPECTION OF THE ANIMALS
Efforts to Obtain a Literary Atmos-
phere Amid the Distractions Of
Domestic Life.
WIFE'S EFFORTS TO ASSIST
INSPECTION OF THE ANIMALS

There is many and many a fine story
| to be had at the Zoo. The crowds that go
out there Sundays ought to furnish you
with wealth OF human-interest ma
terial. Why don't you try to get some OF
| 1t into print?'
Now. when city editor speaks like that
to reporter-not commanding1y, but
graciously and with a voice toned with
some slight commendation-it fires a slug
gard reporters soul with ambition. 1t
points a way to great things, great stories
| and great praise.
So. hearkening to the voice Of the editor,
the reporter went to bed as early Sat
urday night as q morning paper would
permit. planning to be up bright and
| early Sunday morning to HE him to the
| Zoo and drink deeply from that wonder
full stream, the River Of Humanity. How
ever, as early as he went to bed, 1t was
really very late, and after troubled
| night-nightmares from quick lunches,
| you know-a wee small voice woke him
| in the morning.
'Hey. daddie. see my gun. broke IT,
1t shouted to him, and scattered sleep to
| the winds.
| ''Uh-huh,n was the reply.
"Oh. see mudders umbrella, daddie!
She puts her head In it when the rain
comes down."
| "Uh-huh. Now be a good boy and let
me Sleep
Then another voice:
| John, you have no feeling for any one
at all but yourself. Here it's O'Clock,
and you're just as much awake as If you
| hadn't been asleep all night"
So then he arose and sought solace in a
| cold bath. But the young man Of the
gun and umbrella had stolen the thing
that keeps the water from running out OF
the tub. and the cold bath was deferred
indefinitely. The morning papers had
come, though. and the reporter grabbed
them and made OF to q comfortable arm
chair. There on the first page In the
| place of honor in the first column was
the story he had written the day before.
Mrs Reporter in an excited tone:
/ See, have first-page story, Mary"
"Oh. yes" replied Mary. picking up the
paper. He thought she would share his
| feelings Of Joy, but all she said was:
| "Oh, my. look at the funny cartoon!"
| and tossed the paper on the floor, so that
the inside pages fell all over the carpet
Now don't read all morning: breakfast
| is ready"
Purpose Announced.
I'm going to the Zoo this morning."
announced the ambitious man.
What for? Why don't you ever go to
| church,"
Because I'm going to write great
Zoo story-the editor wants one"
! "Humph! Seems to me he might write
| it himself
interested in lions and tigers, because
| Roosevelt Is shooting them in Africa
| "Oh, has he gone to Africa? That's the
way with you You never tell me SIN
gle thing"
well. you might read the papers and
| find out something for yourself Mr.
| Roosevelt went to Africa some weeks
ago with party of scientists and trav-
| elers and"
| But just then the young man of the
gun and umbrella, whose name is Harry
upset a bowl OF oatmeal and Africa was
| put aside for activities nearer home in
the line Of drying the table cloth. After
| he was settled again his mother an
nounced that she. too. would go to the
| Zoo and take Harry. along.
So the ambitious reporter had to help
| make the beds and dress Harry in ms
| Sunday best. all the time feeling that he
would die if he did not get a chance to
smoke his pipe in an armchair.
Take that coat off him, DEAR" said
the mother of the youth, land put on his
| thinner one"
"oh. heavens" groaned the reporter;
well never get there. Don't you know
this is business with me?"
We'll. l guess you can dress your,
child right
Poor man.
The Start.
| Then after just one hour and a half
delay the caravan started and no sooner
did they reach the open air than the
| mother, ever watchful Of her child's well
! fare. ordered the reporter back with
Harry to put on his warmer coat again.
! Then when they were half block on
their way Mrs. Reporter discovered that
she had neglected to leave note for the
| iceman, and went back to pen few
lines, while her husband raved.
BY dint Of getting them on a street car
the reporter succeeded in gaining the en-
trance to the Zoo without further inter
ruption. Old Zoo travellers know that
near the eastern side OF the Zoo there
| are some seals and a bear or two. They
are isolated from the other animals, and
Harry, intensely interested in the sea lion
refused to go farther. There Is no more
| foolish beast in all the world than a sea
| lion. He seems to know how to do just
| two things one Is sleeping in the sun and
the other is bobbing his head up out or
the water and then going down again. re-
| peating the operation at intervals all day
| long, until he crawls out to go to sleep.
'Indt Jack-ln-lno-DOX tFiCk just caught
Harry's idea Of what real entertainment
is, and he clung to the railing desperately,
| shouting:
Look at him, mother See him pop up,
mother Look at him-got eye, mother
Oh, mother, where is he? There he is.
mother Is he takin' his bass, mother?
Where's the soap. mother?" and much
more of the same.
| Pretty good story he could write on the
sea lion thought the ambitious reporter;
but Harry made him stay SO long in front
| of the inclosure that he became fairly i'll
at the sight of the foolish thing and want
| ed to move on. And SO did Mrs. Reporter,
| who felt the call OF the wild as exemplified
| in Zoo cages. but the combined efforts of
the two were necessary to get Harry
away from the rail. He bawled and
yelled and hung ON by grasping the bars
| with his hands and crooking his legs
around them so that he was q diflcuh
thing to pry loose Yet through all the
noise he made the foolish sea Hons tust
bobbed their heads UP and down In the
water and looked silly.
Little Harry Objects.
| Roaring with anger and kicking and
clawing. Harry was borne away. He
quieted at the sight Of flock Of pelicans
and then started in to yell again as he
| was whisked by them. His parents
thought they would take him TO the nlace