E SWALLOW.
A SINGULAR HABIT OF THE WOODCOCK.
THE SKY-LARK
THE STORY OF A SEAL.
THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS.
THE BEE.
V--THE VULTURE.
MOTHER AND PUPS.
THE FRIENDLY TERNS.
Y--THE YAK.
SHEEP AND LAMBS.
THE CAPTIVE SQUIRREL.
A STROLL IN THE COUNTRY.
THE OTTER.
THE MASTIFF.
THE CUNNING WOOD-PIGEONS.
SEA REPTILES.
SWISS MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
PARTRIDGE AND YOUNG.
THE KINGFISHERS' HOME.
RATS CARRYING EGGS UP STAIRS.
A HERON ATTACKED BY A HAWK.
A HORSE GUARDIAN.
BATTLE BETWEEN A FOX AND A SWAN.
TOUSY.

* * * * *

[Illustration: CARLO.]

THE KING OF THE CASTLE.

As the lion is called the king of beasts, so the eagle is called the
king of birds; but except that it is bigger, stronger, and swifter than
other birds, there does not seem much reason for the name. It is a
mistake to attribute noble or mean qualities to animals or birds, or to
think they can do good or bad actions, when they can only do what God
has created them to do, and as their instinct teaches.

The most powerful of the eagles is the Golden Eagle, so called because
of the rich yellowish-brown bordering to its feathers. It makes its nest
in the clefts of the rocky sides of the mountains, and seldom on a tree,
unless where one has sprung up in between the clefts, and the tangled
roots make a sort of platform. This the eagles cover with sticks, and
here they make their house, living in it always, and not only when they
lay eggs or have young ones.

If there are eaglets in the nest, the food is at once carried home to
them, and the skinning and eating done at home. Eagles are very
attentive to their young, and feed them with great care until they are
able to take care of themselves.

[Illustration]

ZEBRA AND YOUNG.

Mrs. Zebra, standing with her baby by her side, asks proudly of the
lookers-on, "Did you ever see such a likeness?" and certainly mother and
child are very much alike, striped all over their bodies, from head to
foot, and from nose to tail, with the same regular marks of black.
Strong and wild by nature, the zebra family are left very much to
themselves, which is a source of great happiness to the mother and child
in the picture before us. "No! no! my baby is not going to become as
tame as the donkey, or to draw carts and carriages like the horse; it is
to have its freedom, and go just where it likes all over these large
plains;"--so say