_Mother_. "WHY, ROSIE, HOW LATE YOU ARE TO-DAY!"
_Rosie_. "YES, MA, BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT. THERE WAS A POOR LITTLE GIRL
AT SCHOOL WHO HAD NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF HER, AND SO I HAD TO SEE HER
HOME."]
* * * * *
COMIC ZOOLOGY.
Order-Reptilia.
THE VIPER.
The supposition that this snake prefers a file to any other species of
nourishment is a vulgar error, and belongs to the same mendacious
category as the stories that ostriches are fond of ten-penny nails and
soldiers of hard tack. It is true that old files are sometimes bitten by
vipers in localities where these serpents abound, but in the lizard and
hop-toad they usually find metal more attractive. The viper, when in a
state of repose, is of an olive-brown color; but, if trodden upon, turns
rusty. He is about twenty-four inches in length, as you may see by
applying a two-foot rule to him, but it is a good rule to keep two feet
away from him. As a bosom friend he is not to be trusted--a fact in
natural history that was discovered many years ago by a green
countryman, who got into a bad box by placing a viper on his chest. It
is a peculiarity of this serpent, that when held suspended by his
posterior extremity he can not raise his head to a level with his tail.
In consequence of this provision in the economy of nature, he finds it
as impossible to make both ends meet as if he were a human prodigal.
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