Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1

with such snowy plumage, tinged with pale pink and faint yellow. They
had just had their bath, and stood arranging their feathers with their
great bills, uttering a queer cry now and then, and nodding to one
another sociably. When fed, they gobbled up the fish, never stopping to
swallow it till the pouches under their bills were full; then they
leisurely emptied them, and seemed to enjoy their lunch with the grave
deliberation of regular Englishmen.

Being in a hurry to see the lions, I went on to the long row of cages,
and there found a splendid sight. Six lions and lionesses, in three or
four different cages, sitting or standing in dignified attitudes, and
eyeing the spectators with a mild expression in their fine eyes. One
lioness was ill, and lay on her bed, looking very pensive, while her
mate moved restlessly about her, evidently anxious to do something for
her, and much afflicted by her suffering. I liked this lion very much,
for, though the biggest, he was very gentle, and had a noble face.

The tigers were rushing about, as tigers usually are; some creeping
noiselessly to and fro, some leaping up and down, and some washing
their faces with their velvet paws. All looked and acted so like cats