e very long every monkey in the country learned that a strange
beast had been captured and brought to the Zoo; and soon a large crowd
had gathered before Zingle's cage to examine him.

"Isn't he sweet!" said a lady-monkey who held a green parasol over her
head and wore a purple veil on her face.

"Sweet!" grunted a man-monkey standing beside her, "he's the ugliest
looking brute I ever saw! Scarcely has any hair on him at all, and no
tail, and very little chin. I wonder where on earth the creature came
from?"

"It may be one of those beings from whom our race is descended," said
another onlooker. "The professors say we evolved from some primitive
creature of this sort."

"Heaven forbid!" cried a dandy-monkey, whose collar was so high that it
kept tipping his hat over his eyes. "If I thought such a creature as
that was one of my forefathers, I should commit suicide at once."

Zingle had been sitting on the floor of his cage and wondering what was
to become of him in this strange country of monkeys, and now, to show
his authority, one of the keepers took a long stick and began to poke
the Prince to make him stand up.

"Stop that!" shouted the angry captive, and catching hold of the stick
he jerked it from the keeper's hand and struck him a sharp blow on the
head with it.

All the lady-monkeys screamed at this, and the men-monkeys exclaimed:

"What an ugly disposition the beast has!"

The children-monkeys began to throw peanuts between the bars of the
cage, and Zingle, who had now become very hungry, picked them up and
ate them. This act so pleased the little monkeys that they shouted with
laughter.

At last two solemn-looking monkeys with gray hair, and wearing long
black coats and white neckties, came up to the cage, where they were
greeted with much respect by the other monkeys.

"So this is the strange animal," said one of the new-comers, putting on
his spectacles and looking sharply at the captive; "do you recognize
the species, Professor?"

The other aged monkey also regarded the Prince critically before he
answered:

"I can not say I have ever seen a specimen of this genus before. But
one of our text-books mentions an obscure animal called Homo
Peculiaris, and I have no doubt this is one of that family. I shall
write an article on the creature and claim he is a Homo, and without
doubt the paper will create quite a stir in the scientific world."

"See here," suddenly demanded Prince Zingle, standing