Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-25
TRAVELS IN PHILADELPHIA
By Christopher Morley
THE URCHIN AT THE ZOO

T DON'T know just what urchins think
L about; neither do they. perhaps; but
presumably by the time they're twenty
eight months old they must have formed
some ideas as to what is possible and what
isn't. And therefore it seemed to the
Urchin's curators sound and advisable to
take him out to the Zoo one Sunday after
noon just to suggest to his delightful mind
that nothing is impossible in this curious
world.
OF course, the amusing feature Of such
expeditions is that it is always the adult
who is astounded, while the child takes
things blandly for granted. You or l can
watch tiger for hours and not make head
OF tail of it-in a spiritual sense, that is
whereas an urchin simply smiles with
rapture, isn't the least amazed and wants
to stroke the mice pussy"
TT WAS a soft spring afternoon, the gar
i den was tronged with visitors and all
the indoor animals seemed to be wondering
how soon they would be let out into their
open-air Enclosures. We filed through the
wicket gate and the urchin disdalned the
little green go-carts ranked for hire. He
preferred to navigate the Zoo on his own
white gathered legs. You might as well
have expected Adam on his first tour OF
Eden to ride in a palanquin.
The urchin entered the Zoo much IN
the frame of mind that must have been
Adams on that original tour of inspection.
He had been told he was going to the Zoo,
but that meant nothing to him. He saw
by the aspect Of his curators that he was
to have a good time, and Loyalty he was
prepared to exult over whatever might
come his way. The first thing he saw was
a large boulder--it is set up as memorial
to a former curator of the garden. "Ah,'
thought the urchin, this is what I have
been brought here to admire with a
shout of glee' he ran to it. See stone" he
cried. He is an enthusiast concerning
stones He has a small cardboard box OF
PEBBLES, gathered from the walks of city
square, which is very precious to him. And
this magnificent big pebble. he evidently
thought, was the marvellous thing he had
come to examine. His custodians, far more
anxious than he to feast their eyes upon
lions and tigers, had hard work to lure him
away. He crouched by the boulder, ap-
pratsing its hugeness, and left 1t with the
gratifed air of one who has extracted the
heart out of a surprising and signihcant
experience.
TNHE next adventure was a robin hop
i ping on the lawn. Every child is
familiar with robins, which play a leading
part in so much Mother Goose mythology.
so the urchin felt himself greeting an old
friend "See Robin Redbreast!" he ex.
claimed and tried to climb the low wire
fence that bordered the path. The robin
hoped discreetly underneath bush, un-
certain Of our motives.
NIOW, as I have no motive but to at.
IN tempt to record the truth, It is my
duty to set down quite frankly that be.
lieve the urchin showed more enthusiasm
| over the stone and the robin than over
any of the amazements that succeeded
them. I suppose the reason for that is
plain. These two objects had some under.
! standable relation with his daily life His
| small mind-we call child's mind small
| simply by habit; perhaps it is larger than
ours for 1t can take in almost anything
| without effort-possessed well.known classi
fications into which the big stone and the
| robin fitted comfortably and naturally
| But what can a child say to an ostrich or
an elephant? 1t simply smiles and passes
on. Thereby showing its superiority to
some of our most eminent thinkers They
confronted by something the like Of which
| they have never seen before-shal we say
| a League OF Nations or Bolshevism?-bursi
| into shril screams of panic abuse and
| fee the precinct! How much wiser the
level-headed urchin! Confronting the
| elephant, certainly an appalling sight tc
SO small mortal, he looked at the curator
| who was carrying him on one shoulder
and said with an air OF one seeking gently
to reassure himself, "Elphunt won't come
after Junior" Which is something Of the
mood to which Mr.. Lodge Is moving
TT WAS delightful to see the urchin en-,
i teavcr to bring some sense OF order int
\ this amazing place by his cisesincatiou d
4 the c<ranxo si9hts that su<<bunded him