He has a leg some three feet long, or near it, so they say, Sir.
Stiff upon one alone he stands, t'other he stows away, Sir.
SECOND VOICE.
And what an ugly head he's got! I wonder that he'd wear it.
But rather more I wonder that his long, thin neck can bear it.
FIRST VOICE.
And think, this length of neck and legs (no doubt they have their
uses)
Are members of a little frame, much smaller than a goose's!
BOTH.
Oh! isn't he a curious bird, that red, long-leg'd Flamingo?
A water bird, a gawky bird, a sing'lar bird, by jingo!
Lewis Gaylord Clark.
KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
Speak gently to the herring and kindly to the calf,
Be blithesome with the bunny, at barnacles don't laugh!
Give nuts unto the monkey, and buns unto the bear,
Ne'er hint at currant jelly if you chance to see a hare!
Oh, little girls, pray hide your combs when tortoises draw nigh,
And never in the hearing of a pigeon whisper Pie!
But give the stranded jelly-fish a shove into the sea,—
Be always kind to animals wherever you may be!