A shepherd, in one of his excursions to look after his flock, took with him one of his children, an infant of three years old. After traversing his pastures for some time, attended...
A magpie, belonging to a barber at Rome, could imitate to a nicety almost every word it heard. Some trumpets happened one day to be sounded before the shop, and for a day or two af...
In a large continental menagerie there was a lion called Danco, whose cage was in want of some repairs. His keeper desired a carpenter to set about it, but when the workman came an...
A goose was once observed to attach itself in the strongest and most affectionate manner to the house dog, but never presumed to go into the kennel except in rainy weather; wheneve...
The Mogul and Kalmuc Tartars attribute to the white owl the preservation of Jengis Khan, the founder of their empire; and they pay it on that account almost divine honours. The pri...
A young cat, which sometimes was permitted the indulgence of taking her place in the domestic circle, upon the carpet before the fire in the parlour, one day came in when one of th...
In a play exhibited at Rome, in the reign of Tiberius, there were twelve elephant performers, six males and six females, clothed in fancy costume. After they had, at the command of...
Various have been the opinions upon the difference of speed between a well-bred greyhound and a racehorse if opposed to each other. Wishes had been frequently indulged by the sport...
A gentleman once possessed a mastiff which guarded the house and yard, but had never met with the least particular attention from his master. One night, as his master was retiring...
During the war between Augustus Caesar and Marc Antony, when all the world stood wondering and uncertain which way Fortune would incline herself, a poor man at Rome, in order to be...
An abbot, a man of wit, and skilled in the construction of new musical instruments, was ordered by Louis XI., King of France, more in jest than in earnest, to procure him a concert...
The ease with which the elephant is taught to perform the most agile and difficult feats, forms a remarkable contrast to its huge unwieldiness of size. Aristotle tells us that in a...
The monkeys in India, knowing by instinct the malignity of the snakes, are most vigilant in their destruction; they seize them when asleep by the neck, and running to the nearest f...
A gardener, in removing some rubbish, discovered two ground toads of an uncommon size, weighing no less than seven pounds. On finding them, he was surprised to see that one of them...
One day a tradesman, walking with a friend, offered to wager that if he were to hide a five-shilling piece in the dust, his dog would discover and bring it to him. The wager was ac...
A contest of rather an unusual nature took place in the house of a respectable innkeeper in Ireland. The parties concerned were, a hen of the game species, and a rat of the middle...
A traveller gives a singular anecdote of a lion, which he says was related to him by very credible persons. About the year 1614 or 1615, two Christian slaves at Morocco made their...
A shepherd, who was hanged for sheep-stealing, used to commit his depredations by means of his dog. When he intended to steal any sheep, he detached the dog to perform the business...
A Dreadful famine raged at Buenos Ayres, yet the governor, afraid of giving the Indians a habit of spilling Spanish blood, forbade the inhabitants on pain of death to go into the f...
An eminent Scotch lawyer, having cause to visit London, decided to perform the journey on horseback in preference to posting, for this was before the days of railways. He therefore...
A wild stork was brought by a farmer into his poultry yard to be the companion of a tame one, which he had long kept there; but the tame stork, disliking a rival, fell upon the poo...
The hare is scarcely a domestic animal; yet we have an account of one who was so domesticated as to feed from the hand, lay under a chair in a common sitting-room, and appear in ev...
A carrion crow, perceiving a brood of fourteen chickens under the care of the parent-hen, on a lawn, picked up one; but on a young lady opening the window and giving an alarm, the...
Whilst a ship on a voyage of discovery to the North Pole was locked in the ice, one morning the man at the masthead reported that three bears were making their way towards the ship...
King Porus, in a battle with Alexander the Great, being severely wounded, fell from the back of his elephant. The Macedonian soldiers, supposing him dead, pushed forward, in order...
The town of Bindrabund in India is in high estimation with the pious Hindoos, who resort to it from the most remote parts of the empire. The town is surrounded by groves of trees,...
Persons who have the management of elephants have often observed that they know very well when any one is ridiculing them, and that they very often revenge themselves when they hav...
James Hogg, the shepherd poet, had a dog named Sirrah, who was for many years his sole companion. He was, the shepherd says, the best dog he ever saw, in spite of his surly manners...
A native Moor who went to hunt the lion, having proceeded far into a forest, happened to meet with two lion's whelps that came to caress him; the hunter stopped with the little ani...
Although there are few who would dispute the cleverness and sagacity of the larger animals, it is doubtful if there are many who credit the mouse with even average intelligence. Th...