And now, after calling this wild hunter a dog, I shall have to say that it is not a dog at all, but is only a sort of cousin to the dog, and really a nearer relative of the hyena, though it so resembles both animals as to have gained the name of hyena-dog. Its scientific name is Lycaon venaticus; and besides the two common names already mentioned, it has half a dozen more.
Being neither dog nor hyena, and yet akin to both, it is one of those strange forms of the animal creation which naturalists call "links." It has four toes, like the hyena, while it has teeth like the dog's.
Some attempts have been made to tame it, so as to gain the use of its wonderful powers of hunting; but none of these efforts have yet been successful, because of the suspicious nature of the animal. It seems to feel that every offer of kindness or familiarity is a menace to its liberty.
THE THEORETIC TURTLE.
By A. R. W.
he theoretic turtle started out to see the toad; He came to a stop at a liberty-pole in the middle of the road. "Now how, in the name of the spouting whale," the indignant turtle cried, "Can I climb this perpendicular cliff, and get on the other side? If I only could make a big balloon, I'd lightly over it fly; Or a very long ladder might reach the top, though it does look fearfully high. If a beaver were in my place, he'd gnaw a passage through with his teeth; I can't do that, but I can dig a tunnel and pass beneath." He was digging his tunnel, with might and main, when a dog looked down at the hole. "The easiest way, my friend," said he, "is to walk around the pole."