uneasily, whipping up the camels. The pacha's palace is there,' I heard one of the slaves whisper, and I took especial note of the place, wondering at the same time how much the slave knew of his master's business.

"For many days we travelled through the scorching sand and burning sun of the desert. We had stopped to fill the leathern bottles at the last village, and we camels had stored a sufficient quantity for many days. On

the

tenth day

we expected to emerge from this sandy region, but, alas! the tenth day found us hopelessly wandering in an unknown latitude! We had lost our track, and knew not which way to turn.

"To add to our other troubles, I saw approaching us one of those very fearful sandstorms which I dare say you have read of. I think the rest of the party were too overcome with their other troubles to notice it coming on; but I did, and I formed my plan then and there.

"I lagged behind the others, and could not be

"SHE

on our backs; but at length it subsided, and though we were half suffocated, and greatly exhausted, yet none of us had, so far, perished.

"I rose to my feet as soon as the air was clear enough, and intimated that I wanted to move on. Hafir's wife looked anxiously ahead after the rest of the party, but no sign of any living creature was visible. It was all I could do to get the unhappy woman to mount, for she seemed to think she might

persuaded by all the urging of Hafir's wife to keep up. She, poor thing! thought that my strength was failing, and resigned herself to the thought that we must soon perish together. Hafir looked back after us with a grim smile, thinking the same thing, and urged his own camel forward with a cruel stick. "By the time the sand began to rise round us the rest of the party appeared like specks in the distance. I knelt down on the sand, and the woman, seeing what was about to happen, crouched down too, holding the child close to her.

"For some time the storm raged round us, clouds of sand filling the air and raining down pitilessly

as well lie there and die as attempt to overtake her companions; but as soon as the woman had dragged herself and the child on to my back, I started off with good heart to

seek the nearest village to which Providence might lead us.

"It seemed as

if some beneficent protector did indeed guide us, for before night I thought I could detect the presence of water, and pressed on with fresh vigour in the direction to which my keen scent seemed to lead me; and as day dawned we

had the happiness of finding ourselves in sight of one of those

bright oases, which sometimes appear in the deserts of the East.

"The clear water, pretty cool at that early hour, was like new life to us all, and having thoroughly refreshed ourselves, and filled our bottles, we started once more on our way.

"At the end of two more days we espied a distant village. In that sultry air the privation of food, which we had been without, was more easily borne than in a colder land. Still I greatly feared that the child might perish before we could reach food and shelter. I had not heard his sweet voice for many hours, except in an occasional sigh or moan.

"The thought that he might die sustained me and urged me on, and at length we had the indescribable happiness of reaching the borders of that sandy plain. Some kind natives befriended us, and having rested and refreshed ourselves, I was anxious to depart.

"Whither should we go?' asked Hafir's wife. I only rubbed my nose against her hand, and knelt down to signify that I wished her to mount.

"Poor thing, he has served us well,' she said gently, and she and the child once more mounted.

"Where are we going?' she asked, turning pale as we entered the broad street where the pacha's palace was situated.

"We passed under a broad archway, leading into a paved court, where camels were standing, and slaves were running hither and thither. Presently a lady and gentleman entered from a doorway and prepared to mount for a journey.

"We were surrounded by slaves, who talked and gesticulated and tried to drive us back, but I stood my ground, until the eye of the gracious lady turned in our direction to see what the disturbance was.

"When her gaze fell upon the child, she trembled and turned white as death. Then she drew her husband towards us, and in a moment with a true motherly instinct recognised her child through all his ragged clothing, and seized him in her arms smothering his little face with kisses."

"And what became of you after that?" asked Eva, for here the Camel stopped quite short in his story. "Oh," he replied, "the woman told how I had

brought them through the desert, and straight to the palace, and the pacha said I must have been one of his camels, which Hafir had stolen when a foal. So he took possession of me, greatly honouring me among his camels; and at length my new master brought me with him to Europe, and presented me as a great gift to a friend, who sent me here."

"And Hafir's wife?" asked the insatiable Eva. "I believe she confessed that her husband having a wicked grudge against the pacha, and finding the child one day when it had strayed from the side of its careless attendant, stole it away. I suppose the pacha was satisfied of her goodness, for she was taken into his household, and often brought the little fellow to give me a kindly word and pat. My great trouble in coming here was parting from the little child who had first shown me kindness. But when he bade me good-bye he said he would come to this great city and see me when he is grown up." "Good-bye, dear camel," said Eva, when he had finished his story. "I am so very glad that dear little boy got safe back, and I do love you for your goodness to him. How very clever animals are!" The Elephant had said that he knew the Wolf had a story for them; so he and the children now left the Camel and made their way to his den.

Eva was not quite sure that she should care to visit the Wolf, for she could not get Little Red Riding Hood out of her head. She did not say so, however, as she felt it would not be quite polite to the Elephant. Still it was with many misgivings that she entered the abode of the Wolf.

LEAN, wild, hungry-looking creature glared with fierce eyes through the bars of its cage at the children, and curling up its lips, showed white fangs, grinning hideously.

Eva shrank back, and covered her eyes with her hand. "Oh, it is a wolf!"

she cried. "I am afraid of wolves. They eat children. I do not like them."

"And pray why not?" exclaimed the Wolf, violently; "don't you kill lambs and chickens

for

"No, no, I don't," she said, piteously.

"Perhaps not yourself; but you are precious glad to eat them when somebody else has done it for you. And why should not wolves eat you, then?"

STORY.

"Well," said the Wolf's keeper, who stood near the cage, "you see there happens to be something about this in the Bible, where it is said that all the beasts and the birds were brought to Adam to name, and that he was given dominion over them; but nothing of the sort is stated about wolves. They are not given dominion over children, if you please."

"Well, at any rate, why you pretend not to like me, when you pet the spaniel, I don't know," sneered the Wolf. "We are all dogs together."

"You are not a dog!" cried Eva, indignantly. "Because I'm superior," snarled he, "if I wasn't superior, I should be a dog. If you examined that spaniel and this wolf internally, you would find mighty little difference, I can tell you."

"I never will, you shocking creature," replied Eva; "and see how poor Rover shrinks and cowers at the mere sight of you. You a dog, indeed!" "Look at me. I'm superior," said the Wolf, and

he poked out his head, and held his big bushy tail, which hung slouching down between his legs, straight and stiff behind him. "Why, I'm three feet seven inches from the tip of my nose to the beginning of my tail. And I stand two feet five inches high in my stocking feet; and isn't my hair rough and hard, and my muzzle thick, and my head large, and my eyes of a fiery green, and set slanting -slanting, I say while every dog's eyes are set straight; and I'm always hungry! I'm voracious, while that poor little cringing creature," making a snap through the bars at the spaniel, who retired in a great hurry, with a melancholy howl, "will be content with a saucerful of milk. I tell you, I am superior!"

"For all that we caught you, my fine fellow," said the keeper.

"And I was uncommonly near catching you, my fine fellow," retorted the Wolf.

"Tell us about it, pray," cried Jeff, much interested.

"Oh yes, by all means tell 'em about it," growled the keeper. "Let him who wins laugh, and I don't think I lost on that occasion, for here you are!"

"Well," said the Wolf, "I'm an African, and my native land is the grandest in the world. Not like your miserable hole-and-corner country where you have no room for anything. We have space! We have hundreds upon hundreds of miles of wild space without a hut or a man to be seen. Africa was made for wolves, not for men and women, and men and women have no business there at all. That fellow there chose to come-he and some others, with their rifles and their revolvers ready to shoot us down if they could-a pack of murderers banded together against our lives- a secret society of the worst kind, spreading themselves over a tract of country where we live. Now we are not like you; we are independent, each wolf stands on his own legs, and is sufficient for himself. But when we know that men are in our neighbourhood, ready to be eaten, then we band together and prowl about by twelves and twenties, ready for the attack, after which we separate and keep to ourselves again. We prefer women and children to men-they are unarmed and weak; them we carry off by daylight, but with men it is different, and we are on our guard."

"Cowards!" Eva was very much inclined to say, but she seemed afraid.

"We scent them miles and miles away, and once scented we never let their steps escape us. You little thought how long we had been on your track”— to the keeper-" or what watch we had kept on you from the early morning, how everything you did was marked by the eyes of a dozen eager hungry wolves,

or how when beyond the sight of their eyes they followed you with their noses on the sand. It was glorious, that day of watching and hope! And then when you and your companions ensconced yourselves quite safe and comfortable behind a rock, and lighted your fire and ate your supper, there we were close to you and conscious of everything you did, for if we could not see you, we could see your shadows projected on the sand from behind the rock, and that was quite enough for us, I assure you.

"We licked our lips as you lay down to sleep, and some of our party trembled with excitement. Then, when we thought all was prepared for us-for you were kind enough even to throw your rifles out of your reach-and nothing was wanted to complete the preparations for our supper but the daring rush upon you to which happy event we were counting the minutes-I advanced with one companion in front of our party, for you see it is always pleasant to be first, and eagerly, yet cautiously approached. "In that instant one of the shadows moved, and a human head appeared above the rock.

"Ah, ha! I remarked with joy where your rifles lay; and what chance had two marked men among a dozen hungry wolves?

"Now then-the hour has come-but, ah! what can exceed the meanness and cruelty of these midnight murderers? What craftiness they are driven to! what weapons they carry! From your breast you produced a revolver-for it was your head, you coward, that glared at me above the rock, it was your hand that fired the deadly shot-from your breast you produced a revolver. And what do we against such force and violence as that? Half-a-dozen shots were fired in among us, our companions were dispersed in dire confusion, while the wolf by my side was stretched dead on the ground, and I, crushed and disabled, lay near him, believing that death had seized me also in his grasp."

“And upon my word," said the keeper, "the Wolf has told the story uncommonly well, and I had no notion before this what danger we were in all day. It gives me a queer all-overish sort of a feel, to think of that ghastly herd having been on our track, scenting us far and near the whole day. It does indeed, though it is years since it happened. We had kindled our fire, my master and I, and eaten our supper, and thought ourselves quite safe behind that rock; and he was sleeping ever so sound, and I fell off too. Not a sound was there to be heard. No distant howling or roaring I thought we had the place to ourselves -and there-instead of that, this wicked enemy was only a few yards off, and ready to devour us. I declare in the innocence of my heart I thought the

I

creatures had come on us by choice-like. had not a notion of their cunning — well, live and learn. And I have learned something from the Wolf to-night. I don't know what it was woke me."

"Perhaps it was me licking my lips," growled the Wolf; and he licked his lips as he spoke, and then curled them back, grinning at the keeper, till Eva once more hid her eyes with her hand, to keep the horrid sight out.

"Something that woke me, any way," continued the keeper, to whom the two children were listening with breathless attention.

"Up I jumped, and popping my head above the rock, just as he describes, I saw the creatures warily approaching, with fiery eyes gleaming and glaring at me, till I felt all nohow. And uncommon 'cute it was of the Wolf, I must say that, to notice that the rifles were out of reach. It was the first thought that occurred to me, and the utter helplessness of it I shan't forget in a hurry. But second thoughts are best, and I remembered my revolver-out with it-bang! bang! bang! off they scamper-down they go-and, I am thankful to say, we are saved!"

"Yes," growled the Wolf, "you are saved-you are a nice specimen of selfishness, young man; but what about us, if you please?"

"Served you right," replied the keeper, coolly; "one of you was dead, the rest were put to rout, and there you lay, and we thought you were dead, too; my master had awoke at the sound of the revolvers, and he stood by my side, rubbing his eyes like a man in a dream. Then we came up to examine you, and I was uncommonly near having my fingers snapped off, I can tell you," and the man examined his hand affectionately as he spoke, "The vicious brute snapped at me, he did indeed, when I was quietly pulling him about, believing him to be dead. 'Why, he is alive, Dick,' said my master; and as fine a specimen of a wolf as I

ever saw.'

"And that was the truest word your master ever spoke in his life," snarled the Wolf.

"Poor brute,' said my master, 'see here, Dick, let's save him if we can, and take him home with us. It is all very well to shoot wild beasts when the question is whether they shall take our lives or we theirs. But we'll never be hard on a fallen foe, my lad.'

"And so down we knelt by the creature, tied up his wounds, and made him as comfortable as we could, and much thanks he's given us for it since,. We contrived a muzzle for him, which I thought the pleasantest part of the job, but my master said, quite enthusiastically, 'I have

heard of wolves being tamed by kindness. That's the only way with brutes, Dick; if you want to teach a dog, or break in a horse, or anything else, there's just one secret and only one-kindness. kindness, kindness; you must begin with kindness, and go on with kindness, and finish with kind

ness.

"And were you very kind to this wolf?" asked Eva, doubtfully.

"We were, but it was no use. He kept savage all through, and so we gave him to the Zoological Gardens."

"I was too old a bird to have salt put on my tail," said the Wolf; "and it would give me the greatest pleasure in life if that young lady would just thrust her hand through the bars and pat my head."

But he looked so wicked as he said this that Eva caught hold of Jeff with both hands, and ran away as fast as she could.

"Well, don't you think we ought now to go to the Monkey-house?" asked Jeff.

"Oh yes!” said Eva, “because then we shall see Pongo's brother, and perhaps he will tell us a story."

"Very well," said the Elephant ; " to the Monkeyhouse you shall go. Keeper, proceed!" and he waved his trunk.

Once more the keeper touched his hat, and answered, "Yes, sir;" and then in a few minutes the children found themselves at the door of the Monkey-house.

"You two go in," said the Elephant; "I can't very well pass through the doorway, but I'll wait for you here."

So in they went.

What a Babel of sounds greeted them as they passed in! Such chattering and laughing, such shouting and screaming-just such as you would expect to proceed from a hundred nurseries of children put together.

Yet, strange to say, although the Monkeys came from fifty different parts of the world, they all spoke one language, and Jeff and Eva seemed to understand all they were saying.

However, the children lost no time in seeking out Pongo's brother, and making his acquaintance. Then, after hearing that Eric had been there and delivered the messages entrusted to him, both Jeff and Eva begged Pongo's brother to tell them some thing of his life, and this he was not at all loth to do.

Happily for the children's hearing, the news that a story was to be told soon spread through the Monkey-house and for once the chattering ceased, and all who were assembled listened attentively to