Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-17

| ton of his tale of woe was Il am a lost
gosling-perhaps gone gosling. Help.
i Help. | say. l am nearly all in No
home, no mother. l haven't had a grain
| of corn or bit Of worm since / left
my shell. Give me shelter, kind woman,
| and a plate of vfctuals!''
/ That gosling was put to bed a
| feather, pillow close by the kitchen range.
ate like an ostrich. Inquiries for squares
| around showed that nobody in that part
of Mount Pleasant kept geese, chickens
| or ducks The Zoo was called up. Moth
ing in the fowl line was missing there.
| No geese had been Matched there.
! This gosling was a strange thing. AL
| ternately he appeared to those who had
adopted him as white swan Or wild
/ duck, but usually he was swan. In a
| few days he took possession of the house.
He set up a cute horizontal vibration Of his
| tail or what was to grow to be his tail,
and he got the choicest food that the re-
| frigerator or the pantry held. But at
| length he became domineering and the
| household and the neighbors could not
escape his persistent calls or demands
| Of stPaep, Peep" He was an eXtraor-
dinarily early riser for that section of
| the city. He was presented to the Zoo.
| There in spite of the fact that he prom
| ised to be rare swan, he has grown
/ into common white goose, but he as
socates on terms OF familiar friendship
| with swans gray geese and fancy ducks.
1 Among the residents Oh that idhc are
| ducks of high degree, big fellows dressed
| in black and wearing white collars.
/ When the kindly keepers spread break
| fast or supper on the banks or the pono.
| or the margin of the lake. there Is a
| good deal of futter and clamor and ami
| nation. The regular Zoo boarders are
| not the only guests. Company IS there.
4 Visitors drop in from the nearby oousns
and bushes They have been waiting in
| the thickets for the table to De set One
/ I,an
this would be inhospitable. They are SO
| frank about wanting to eat that one
must forgive them. They go az the Tree
lunch as though they owned the Zoo
| or course the sparrow is there In
] focks Wherever the eating is free and
| easv the sparrow is on hand-or foot.
| Call him CRATER il you Will, 1t must
| be admitted that he is enterprislnS ana
| daring. and that ne or she GOES NO ~
overlook favorable opportunity 10
eat at somebody elSe's expense 80 Tar
| as known none of the gray geese OF
white swans or fancy ducks mas said
Come in little sparroWs, and heip
yourselves-the government pays Tor
| this feed and it is nothing out OF our
pocket or craw. So help yourselves.
The sparrow has been accused OF many
improprieties, but mOdesty is not one
of them. - -,
Sometimes an old goose will waddle
among the sparrows and with men
acing manner, and threatening mss
will dispense them-fOr IL moment. But
they will not be discouraged
Grackles also come in to feed Ihey
seem to dare any goose to put them
out They strut as proudly, or as IN
solently, as they would II stealing the
| grain in any other way. Crows drop In
| to eat Shy and timid wood thrush ny
| in, pick up a morse1 to feed the chill
| dren at home and to muster up courage
| to make another raid. Bluebirds also
come to eat and a cardinal or two
pays a pastoral call.
The swans and ducks and geese 90
not seem disturbed by the callers. II an
/ old gander could express himself SO
| that gentle reader would comprehend
| he would probably say: 1T relieves the
! monotony-the ennui-of this netted
pond to have these unfettered and I'M
| Gagged folk drop in from the blue sky
and the green woods. They bring US
news of how the world is going away
up in the trSe tops and in the shady
| thickets. 1t is \ery interesting to have
| these wild calleNs. Their entertaining,
| costs us nothing, and under these cir
! cumstances it is eaSy to be hosr<table.
| Sometimes the MANNERS of tb/se wild
| birds lack dignity. bN then you know
| it is very easy to be df&nic<d when the
| government serves ones neeals, and not
| so easy to he dignifed when one has
| to scramble for a living.