_The timid Kangaroo frequents The wild Australian brakes; With long hind-legs and fore-legs short Tremendous leaps he takes._ [Illustration] L--THE LION. _With tawny hide and flowing mane, And loud-resounding roar, Of animals the Lion's king, And all bow down before._ WAITING. Waiting for master to come down the stair, Are "Noble" and "Floss," and his favorite mare-- "Brenda" the gentle, with skin soft and gray, Waiting the signal, "Now off and away." Noble stands holding the whip and the rein, His gaze fixed on Brenda, who tosses her mane; While dear little Floss sits quietly by, Winking and blinking her liquid brown eye. Master's so kind to them--nothing to fear Have horse or dogs when his footsteps they hear; Look how they're waiting with eagerness there, Ready to go with him everywhere. And what a pleasure it is when these three There on the staircase their kind master see; Now he is mounted, the waiting is o'er-- Floss, Brenda, and Noble race off from the door. [Illustration] [Illustration: THE BABOON. THE ORANG-OUTAN. THE BARBARY APE. THE MARIMONDA.] [Illustration: THE FOUR-HORNED RAM. THE CHAMOIS. THE ETHIOPIAN HOG. THE OTTER.] THE ARGUS. The Argus is a bird with magnificent plumage; it inhabits the forests of Java and Sumatra, and takes its place beside the pheasant, from which it only differs in being unprovided with spurs, and by the extraordinary development of the secondary feathers of the wings in the male. The tail is large and round, and the two middle feathers are extremely long and quite straight. When paraded, as it struts round the female, spreading its wings and tail, this bird presents to the dazzled eye of the spectator two splendid bronze-colored fans, upon which is sprinkled a profusion of bright marks much resembling eyes. It owes its name of Argus to these spots. [Illustration] THE YOUNG MONKEY. A little Monkey chanced to find A walnut in its outward rind; He snatched the prize with eager haste, And bit it, but its bitter taste Soon made him throw the fruit away. "I've heard," he cried, "my mother say (But she was wrong), the fruit was good; Preserve me from such bitter food!" A monkey by experience taught, The falling prize with pleasure caught; Took off the husk and broke the shell, The kernel peeled, and liked it well. "Walnuts," said he, "are good and sweet, But must be opened ere you eat." And thus in life you'll always find Labor comes first--reward behind. [Illustration] THE CLEVER FOX.