Fish v. Oyster

In Delaware Bay, an oyster sucked a little fish into his maw. The fish fed himself fat upon the other fish the oyster ate. One day, grown bigger, he ate the oyster. Last week in Dover, Del., the oyster shell was opened by one Mrs. I. Paul Jones. Out fell the fish.

Rabbit

In Mulhouse, Alsace-Lorraine, one De Mouche, farmer, put on his hunting cap, took his long gun in hand, and went out to visit his rabbit snares. Sure enough, in the first snare cowered a furry creature, pressing its soft white belly against the ground, upturning stricken, opalescent eyes. Farmer De Mouche chuckled. He laid his long shotgun upon the ground and bent to secure his game. But suddenly there was a scuffle behind him; another rabbit leaped out of the bush, sprang upon the shotgun's trigger. "BANG!" Farmer De Mouche received both barrels in his back. Bloody, mangled, dripping, he crawled home. The snared rabbit remained in the snare.

Rat

In Brooklyn, one Rachael Galpern, 14, was taking a hot soap-bath before going to a party. Hearing a slight scratching in the ceiling above her, she raised her eyes in time to see a pointed grey face peer at her from a hole in the plaster. The hole widened, the thin mortar crumbled, and an enormous black rat fell into the water with her, splashed about, caressed her with its clammy paws and insolently ogled her. Rachael screamed; Mrs. Galpern rushed in and killed the rat with a poker. That evening at the party when a little boy exclaimed "Oh, rats!" Rachael Galpern became hysterical. First a doctor, then a nerve specialist was called. Her father collected $1,700 from his landlord for "injury to nervous system."

Horse

In Brooklyn, a fish peddler (Giacomo Puleo) and a laundry-wagon driver (William Levine) left their horses uncovered in a storm. Haled to court they were sent to stand coatless, hatless, for 15 minutes in the winter rain. Magistrate Golden said: "Now you know what it feels like."

Turken

In Des Moines, a small but red-eyed turkey gobbler was mated with a large chicken. Eggs were laid, hatched, and a barnyard hybrid stepped forth which the breeder, one Roy Beck, called a turken. "Its meat combines the delicacy of chicken with the flavor of turkey." "Turkens will bring 70c to 80c a pound next November," said Breeder Beck.

Goldfish

How old is an old goldfish? Thirty years or more. Yet, because of bad care, the average lifetime of a goldfish is only six weeks. Last week the American Railway Express Co., which handles thousands of goldfish every year, told people how to look after them:

1) Handle carefully.

2) Change the water every twelve hours, but remember that too sudden a change of temperature may kill the fish. Therefore pour off only haK of the old water and add the same amount of cool, clean water. Fill the cans not more than three-quarters full, as too much water does not leave enough room for air.

3) Don't smother the fish. They breathe and must have plenty of oxygen. . . . When the fish come to the surface and gasp, this indicates that the oxygen in the water has been exhausted and the water should be changed.

4) Keep the cans out of the sun in summer and away from steam pipe-and stoves in winter. Don't allow the water to freeze.

5) Remove dead fish which float on top of the water. Some fish will live for a long time even though frozen solid and can be gradually thawed out in a warm room.

6) Watch the actions of the fish closely. When they show signs of exhaustion or sluggishness, it is good to add a teaspoonful of table or sea salt and then shake the cans a bit, which induces oxygen in the water.

Spider v. Mouse

In Indiana, a half-grown mouse incurred the enmity of a great green spider. He would leer and squeak at the spider when the latter was at work on his webby scaffold under the kitchen range. One day the mouse went to sleep beside a leg of the range, and the spider climbed down his ladder. He spun a loop around the mouse's tail, hitched a noose to each of his hind legs, then pulled and hauled until he raised the sleeping creature from the ground. Too late the mouse awoke; too late he rolled piteous eyes upon the green hangman, who crept up beside him, extended long mandibles, bit him to death. (This is substantially the story accepted by the American Nature Association.)

Blades

In Leavenworth Prison, Kan., one C. H. Mansfield, convict, put two safety razor blades in his mouth "to pass the time." One of his comrades, noticing that he seemed silent, glum, jovially smote him upon the back. Convict Mansfield gagged, swallowed the razor blades. Prison doctors stated that his sur- vival was doubtful.

Deposit

In Colombia, South America, one Henry G. Granger, onetime U. S. consular agent to that republic (1906-1907), deposited $10 in a bank and strode away with the smile of a Morgan, a Rothschild, a Wallingford. Little did anyone know what an important thing he had done, he ruminated, for the $10 is to remain on deposit for 1,000 years. At the end of that time it will amount to 2,000,000,000,000,000,000 pesos, or $5,374,523,952,824,329 in U. S. money--1,000 times the cost of the War. Financier Granger generously bequeathed this money to the President and the Chief Justice of the U. S., the Minister of Hacienda, of Colombia, and the U. S. Minister to Colombia, to administer for the public good.