Omaha daily bee., 1916-10-02
By GARRETT P. SERVISS.

| / ueteSt tnat RIDICULOUS, OsteHtd'
tious Asiatic always showing off hi:
absurd feathers" said a turkey-cock
or 'gobbler, indicating to his rather
plain-looking wife a superb peacock
which had just spread its many-eyed
and gloriously iridescent fan on the
other side of the barnyard. I'm an
American, | am, all through, and
don't like imported trash anyhow, but
| simply can't stand it when a silly
alien fellow like that begins to put on
airs and display his fine clothes. And
just listen to his voice; did you ever
hear such an effeminate squeak"
The peacock, seeming rain afar off
in the atmosphere, had uttered his
shrill of warning, in accord with the
instincts of his Oriental race, and the
sound proved to be even more provo
cative to the gobbler than the spec
tacle of the prismatic tail. In mo-
ment two or three little, round-should-
cred, speckle-gowned, Quakerish-
looking DANES surrounded the peacock
and plainly admired him. This in
creased the vexation OF the turkey
cock.
What fools women are!" he ex-
claimed. (He meant turkey women,
of course.) "A little glitter and a
proud strut are enough to set their
heads awhirl."
"But | think he is really very hand
some" said the hen turkey.
Handsome" cried the gobbler.
"You call that thing handsome. I've
notion to wipe the yard with his
contemplate bandanna! Look at the
ninny show his PAGES. I'll take him
down. I'll show him up for a boast
ing, strutting coward, right before his
own haremw
The gobbler thereupon spread his
own tail, swelled his tufted chest
prodigiously, pulled out his fiery-red
combs and wattles until they glowed
like punches of carbuncles, and con-
tinued to swell and swell, looking as
if he would burst at any moment. At
last he did, apparently, blow up. with
hoarse "s-t-t-u-r-t!" which seemed
to scatter the shrapnel OF hatred and
defiance all about him.
Then he uttered terrifying COB
le-gobble-gobble," and, lowering his
tail and his head, rushed straight at
the peacock, who at the sight of this
sudden apparition of oncoming war,
dropped his magnificent fan upon the
ground, shrunk into little notified
body dragging train at his heels and
fled for his life, with the hens alright
eddy following.
"ThereH exclaimed the gobbler,
suddenly recovering his good nature.
Now, you see what ostentation is; its
only wind; there's nothing in it."
Whereupon he again spread his tail,
swelled his chest, burst out with
charge of compressed pride this time,
and cut a circle with his wing around
his family, the entire membership of
which had now assembled to watch
him.
The Master Appears.
At this moment the master Of the
barnyard appeared on the scene. He
had witnessed the episode, and he
happened to be one of those rare men
that possess the secret of the Arabian
farmer, who had learned the language
of his fowls and cattle as well as OF
his horses and dogs. The turkey cock
lowered his tail and affected to be
very busy hunting for grains of corn,
But the master went straight to him.
so you are setting yourself up as
censor of maners," he said to the
gobbler. you would better first look
to your own" 49,.
But that foreigners insolent os-
tentation is intolerable," replied the
gobbler. II never saw such stuck
up rascal"
"If you had looked at yourself in
the watering trough just now" re-
turned the master, you might have
discovered equal ostentation i'll your
own appearance. You are just as
proud and as full of vanity as the pea
cock. 1t runs in your family"
my familyr exclaimed the gobbler.
whats my family got to do with that
popinjay?" Il
The master laughed.
"You both belong to the pheasants,"
he said, land although your native
lands are separated by the whole
diameter of the earth, there is no divi-
sion between y in the matter of
pride. The peacock has longer and
more beautiful tail feathers than
yours, that is all. He is an Indian