The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts

A great conflict was about to come off between the Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were collected together the Bat hesitated which to join. The Birds that passed his perch said: ‘Come with us”; but he said: ‘I am a Beast.’ Later on, some Beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said: ‘Come with us”; but he said: ‘I am a Bird.’ Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the Birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went to the Beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or else they would have torn him to pieces. ‘Ah,’ said the Bat, ‘I see now, ‘He that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends.’

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Housefly

The common housefly is a flying insect that is found throughout the world. The genus and species of the housefly is Musca domestica. 

Like all insects, the housefly has a body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), a hard exoskeleton, and six jointed legs. Flies also have a pair of transparent wings. The Housefly can taste using its feet and with its mouthparts. Adults are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (6 - 12.5 mm) long with 13 - 15 mm wingspan. Houseflies are dark gray, with four dark stripes down the top of the thorax. They have sponging mouthparts (they cannot bite); houseflies can only eat liquids, but they can liquefy many solid foods with their saliva. 

The complete life-cycle of a housefly takes from 10 to 21 days. On the average, 12 generations of houseflies can be produced in one year. Adult females lay 120-150 tiny white eggs, usually in manure or other warm, moist, decaying organic matter. Female lives for about 2 1/2 months and can lay up to 1,000 eggs in her short life. The eggs are only about 0.04 inch (1 mm) long and hatch into white, worm-like maggots in about 12 hours. The maggots grow to be about 1/2 inch (12.5 mm) long. When they are this big, they burrow into the ground to pupate. An adult will emerge in about 5 to 6 days (in warm weather) or about a month (in cold weather). 

The housefly is often a carrier of diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and anthrax. The fly transmits diseases by carrying disease organisms onto food. It picks up disease organisms on its leg hairs or eats them and then regurgitates them onto food (in the process of liquefying solid food). 

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The Fox and The Crow

It was a fine summer’s day and fox was out for a stroll when he spotted a crow sitting on a high branch of a tree. The fox couldn’t help but notice that the crow had in his beak a very large chunk of cheese! The fox being a crafty fox, and the fact that he’d not yet had his breakfast, decide that this was too good an opportunity to miss, and sat down at the foot of the tree. He watched the crow as he thought to come up with a ruse which would deliver the cheese to him. The crow eyed him suspiciously, being very much aware of the fox’s reputation. But she considered herself quite safe, as it is well known that foxes do not climb trees.

“My my”, said the fox at last, looking up towards the crow, “What a magnificent noble bird I see before me! Your beauty is indeed without equal, mistress, and the effect of the sunlight on your feathers is surely beyond compare! I heard from my friends that it is your voice, however, that is your finest attribute, and I have been longing to hear you sing!” 

Now the crow had never really given much thought to the quality of her voice, but she was mightily flattered by the fox’s compliments. As a result she forgot all about her suspicions, and threw caution to the wind. She opened her mouth, and started singing a tune, as loudly as she could: “caw craw craw!” As soon as she did so, of course, down fell the cheese, and the fox put her paw over it. “Well, mistress, you do indeed have a fine voice”, he called out to her, “if only your brain was quite as sharp!” 

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The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered them freely. The Town Mouse rather turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: 

‘I cannot understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the country; come you with me and I will show you how to live. When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever have stood a country life.’ 

No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town Mouse’s residence late at night. 

‘You will want some refreshment after our long journey,’ said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking. 

‘What is that?’ said the Country Mouse. ‘It is only the dogs of the house,’ answered the other. 

Only!’ said the Country Mouse. ‘I do not like that music at my dinner.’ 

Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off. 

‘Good-bye, Cousin,’ said the Country Mouse, 

‘What! going so soon?’ said the other. 

Yes,’ he replied; ‘Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.’

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The Eagle and the Kite

AN EAGLE, overwhelmed with sorrow, sat upon the branches of a tree in company with a Kite. 
"Why," said the Kite, "do I see you with such a rueful look?"
"I seek," she replied, "a mate suitable for me, and am not able to find one." 
"Take me," returned the Kite, "I am much stronger than you are." 
"Why, are you able to secure the means of living by your plunder?" 
"Well, I have often caught and carried away an ostrich in my talons." 
The Eagle, persuaded by these words, accepted him as her mate. 
Shortly after the nuptials, the Eagle said, "Fly off and bring me back the ostrich you promised me." 
The Kite, soaring aloft into the air, brought back the shabbiest possible mouse, stinking from the length of time it had lain about the fields. 
"Is this," said the Eagle, "the faithful fulfillment of your promise to me?" 
The Kite replied, "That I might attain your royal hand, there is nothing that I would not have promised, however much I knew that I must fail in the performance."

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Giraffe

Giraffes are the tallest land animals. A giraffe could look into a second-story window without even having to stand on its tiptoes! A giraffe's 6-foot-long neck weighs about 600 pounds. The legs of a giraffe are also 6 feet long. The back legs look shorter than the front legs, but they are about the same length. There is only one species of giraffe. The recognized subspecies include reticulated, Nubian, Uganda or Baringo, Masai, Angolan, and southern. The different kinds can be recognized by their spots and also by where they live in Africa. Masai giraffes, from Kenya, have spots that look like oak leaves. Other kinds have a square-shaped pattern that looks like the giraffe is covered by a net. Some zoologists think that the giraffe's pattern is for camouflage. Both male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns called ossicones. Male giraffes use their horns to playfully fight with one another.

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