"Our enemy, the Boa, also hath an eye with a cold stare; is he therefore also a metamorphosed Koko? Again heed well your answer," continued the king in a somewhat sarcastic tone. The owl winked and blinked, adjusted his spectacles and made answer. "The undeniable evidence that the creature referred to is the metamorphosed Koko-bird is as follows: All the wise birds of your kingdom, including your humble servant, have searched far and near and have found no Koko-bird. We, ahem, I, have found this creature with the cold stare; therefore, it follows that this staring, scaly, wingless and featherless creature must be the metamorphosed Koko-bird, for how could it be otherwise?" All doubt vanished at such display of wisdom and the king of birds at once dispatched the Flipflap bird to the banks of the Boozoo river, instructing him to keep a sharp lookout on the now scaly Koko and to drive him back into the water should he attempt to leave it. Even to this day the guardian of fish may be seen perched upon a stump, closely watching the rippling waters. As soon as one of the finny tribe approaches near the surface he makes a dash for it, compelling it to return with all speed. For his faithful services the Flipflap bird has been dubbed Kingfisher, which is a much nicer name. Albert Schneider. [Illustration: BANANA. 2/3 Natural-size. COPYRIGHT 1900. BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO.] THE BANANA. Tall and stately, capped by a gracefully arched group of leaves and a nodding spike of numerous flowers, the banana is noted alike for its beauty, its nourishing fruit and its many qualities of economic value. Some one has said, "The banana is the queen among ornamental herbs, and the household god of the laborer's cottage." To him who dwells in the tropics the banana is as wheat and rice are to the inhabitants of more temperate regions. Nearly all the authorities on the distribution of plants believe the banana to be a native of Asia and that it was not found in the New World previous to its introduction by man. An argument which strongly supports this theory is the lack of native names for the plant in Mexico and in South America. It was mentioned by the early Latin and Greek writers, but seems to have been unknown to the ancient Egyptians. Botanical authorities quite generally agree that the numerous varieties of our common banana are produced from Musa sapientum. The generic name, Musa, is by some claimed to have its origin in the Arabic word Moux, their name for this group of plants. Others claim that the name was given in honor of Antonius Musa, a physician who cured Augustus Caesar of a disease that had been considered incurable. The specific name has its origin in the myth that the groves of the banana plant were used by the sages or wise men (sapientes) of India for their councils and for rest, they also partaking of the fruit.