But, sly Miss Kit, I know you well; Who goes to the pantry to steal new milk? It is a truth, you're wild and young, Time soon will change you to a dull old cat; So, kit, 'tis plain that you and I XLVI.-MONKEYS. MONKEYS are remarkable for their love of mischief, and for a restless spirit of curiosity. A monkey never can let things alone, but must always know whatever is going on around him. If any thing he takes hold of can be broken or spoiled, he is sure to find the way of doing it; and he chatters with pleasure when he hears the noise of a china vessel smashed to pieces on the pavement. He is fond of opening desks and drawers, and tumbling about their contents, so as to leave them in a state of the greatest disorder. If he takes up a bottle of ink, he empties it upon the floor. He unfolds all your papers, and scatters them about the room, or else tears them in pieces. If a pot or kettle be set upon the fire, he takes off the cover, to see what is inside, even though he burns his paw in the operation. Monkeys are fond of teasing other animals. Some of you may have seen a picture of a monkey holding a cat in his grasp, and using her paw to take some roasted chestnuts out of the fire. The poor cat looks very unhappy, and is evidently struggling very hard to escape; but the monkey is too strong for her, and she must submit to have her paw burned. There was once a gentleman living in the country, who had a monkey which was very fond of riding the pigs, of which there were several, kept in a large pen. He would jump upon their backs, and drive them about till they could move no longer, beating them with a stick if they stopped. The pigs lived in great fear of him, and when he appeared would set up a grunt of terror, as if he had been a tiger come to devour them. Monkeys are also fond of mimicking the actions of men - sometimes to their cost. One of them had seen his master in the act of shaving, and at the first chance took up the razor to shave himself, but cut his throat with the sharp edge. Wild monkeys are said to be caught by means of their love of mimicry. The men who want to catch them go into the woods where they are, and put on and take off their gloves many times. They then go away, leaving their gloves on the ground, lined with pitch. The monkeys come down from the trees, and put on the gloves, which stick to their hands, and prevent them from climbing; then they are easily taken. There was a monkey once kept in a large farm house in England, in the kitchen of which there was an immense fireplace. Over the fireplace there hung a powder horn. The men who worked on the farm would sometimes take down the horn, and throw a few grains of powder into the fire. Pug watched his chance, and when all was still, and he had the kitchen entirely to himself, got possession of the horn, skipped into the chimney, and poured the contents over the dying remains of a wood fire. Of course there was an explosion, which threw the poor monkey half way up the chimney; and when he fell, he was so singed and so blackened with soot that he would not have been known for the same creature. He was so mortified by his mischance that he was missing for some days; and when he reappeared, driven from his hiding-place by the pangs of hunger, he presented such an aspect that he was received with shouts of laughter. Pug never forgot his adventure in the chimney. He was ever after a sadder and a wiser monkey. Whenever he was inclined to be troublesome and mischievous, they had only to show him the powder horn, and he would run off to his hole, his teeth chattering with terror. mon'keyş 1 rest'less pie'ceş drâw'erş great'est cu-ri-os'i-ty pave'ment diş-ör'der re-märk'a-ble ĕmp'tieş op-er-a'tion scat'ters ev'i-děnt-ly sub-mĭt' ap-peared' pict❜ure dẹ-vöûr' ǎc'tionş rā'zor gloveş ea'şi-ly ex-plō'şion kitch'en poş-şes'sion chìm'ney ad-vent'ure teaş'ing roast'ed mis'chiev-ous struggling sev'er-al těr'ror mim'ick-ing pitch con-tents' England 2 im-mense' mör'ti-fied miss'ing săd'der XLVII.-ATTACHMENTS AMONG ANIMALS. No one who has seen much of animals need be told that they are capable of gratitude and affection. 1 Pron, mŭng'kiz. 2 ing'gland. The dog wags his tail with pleasure at the sight of his master, and rubs his head against his knee. Horses also testify by the movements of their ears, and by their neighing, their delight at the approach of the man who comes to feed them and take care of them. Animals also frequently become attached to others of the same kind. We often see dogs playing together with the same satisfaction as children. Horses have been known to pine away and refuse their food when taken away from their four-footed companions, and put into a new stable. But it sometimes happens that animals of different kinds form attachments to each other which are very curious to observe. A gentleman in England once had a raven, which had been taken when young, and reared in a stable yard where a dog was kept chained. A friendship soon commenced, which in time ripened into a great intimacy. At first the bird would only hop about near the kennel, and sometimes peck a hasty morsel from the dog's feeding pan, when the latter had finished his meal. Finding, however, that his four-footed friend was not disturbed by his presence, the raven soon became a constant attendant at meal times, and taking up his position on the edge of the dish, acted the part of a regular guest, and partook of the dog's dinner, which usually consisted of meal and milk, with a few scraps of meat. The love of mischief which seems to belong to the raven tribe was sometimes displayed by this |