| CHAPTER | PAGE | |||||||
| I | [The Cock and the Hen] | 3 | ||||||
| II | [The Gizzard] | 9 | ||||||
| III | [The Chief Kinds of Poultry] | 16 | ||||||
| IV | [The Egg] | 21 | ||||||
| V | [The Egg (Continued)] | 27 | ||||||
| VI | [Incubation] | 36 | ||||||
| VII | [The Young Chickens] | 47 | ||||||
| VIII | [The Poulard] | 54 | ||||||
| IX | [The Turkey] | 61 | ||||||
| X | [The Guinea-Fowl] | 73 | ||||||
| XI | [The Palmipedes] | 84 | ||||||
| XII | [The Duck] | 94 | ||||||
| XIII | [The Wild Goose] | 108 | ||||||
| XIV | [The Domestic Goose] | 120 | ||||||
| XV | [The Pigeon] | 130 | ||||||
| XVI | [A Story from Audubon] | 141 | ||||||
| XVII | [A Supposition] | 150 | ||||||
| XVIII | [A Fragment of History] | 159 | ||||||
| XIX | [The Jackal] | 173 | ||||||
| XX | [The Chief Breeds of Dogs] | 183 | ||||||
| XXI | [The Chief Breeds of Dogs (Continued)] | 193 | ||||||
| XXII | [The Various Uses of Dogs] | 204 | ||||||
| XXIII | [The Eskimo Dog] | 213 | ||||||
| XXIV | [The Dog of Montargis] | 221 | ||||||
| XXV | [Hydrophobia] [[8]] | 227 | ||||||
| XXVI | [The Cat] | 239 | ||||||
| XXVII | [Sheep] | 255 | ||||||
| XXVIII | [The Goat] | 271 | ||||||
| XXIX | [The Ox] | 279 | ||||||
| XXX | [Milk] | 293 | ||||||
| XXXI | [Butter] | 298 | ||||||
| XXXII | [Rennet] | 303 | ||||||
| XXXIII | [Cheese] | 308 | ||||||
| XXXIV | [The Pig] | 316 | ||||||
| XXXV | [Pig’s Measles] | 329 | ||||||
| XXXVI | [A Persistent Parasite] | 334 | ||||||
| XXXVII | [The Horse] | 343 | ||||||
| XXXVIII | [The Horse (Continued)] | 354 | ||||||
| XXXIX | [The Ass] | 362 | ||||||
[[11]]
OUR HUMBLE HELPERS
CHAPTER I
THE COCK AND THE HEN
Under the big elm tree in the garden Uncle Paul has called together for the third time his usual listeners, Emile, Jules, and Louis. After the story of the Ravagers, which destroy our harvests, and that of the Auxiliaries, which protect them, he now proposes to tell the story of our Humble Helpers, the domestic animals. He thus begins:
“The cock and the hen, those invaluable members of our poultry-yards, came to us from Asia so long ago that the remembrance of their coming is lost. At the present day they have spread to all parts of the world.
“Is it necessary to describe the cock to you? Who has not admired this fine bird, with its bright look, its proud bearing, its slow and sedate walk? On its head a piece of scarlet flesh forms a scalloped crest; under the base of the beak hang two wattles resembling pieces of coral; on each temple, by the side of the ear, is a spot of dull white naked skin; a rich tippet of golden red falls from the neck over the shoulders and breast; two feathers of a greenish metallic [[12]]luster form a graceful arch of plumage in the upper part of the tail. The heel is armed with a horny spur, hard and pointed; a formidable weapon with which, in fighting, the cock stabs his rival to death. His song is a resonant peal that makes itself heard at all hours, night as well as day. Hardly does the sky begin to brighten with the twilight of dawn when, erect on his perch, he awakens the nocturnal echoes with his piercing cock-a-doodle-doo, the reveille of the farm.”
“That,” said Emile, “is the song I like so much to hear in the morning when I am about half-way between sleeping and waking.”