  Matty Ellis had a new hat. It was a pretty white hat with a long, curly white plume, and it was very becoming to her. “Yes, I like it,” she said to aunt Sarah. “But Nanny Rich has a hat with two plumes.” “And I can tell you somebody who wears half a dozen or more,” replied aunt Sarah, “and that somebody is the ostrich himself.” OSTRICH EGGS. Aunt Sarah tells Matty a great many interesting things, and she told her about ostriches. She told how they live in hot sandy countries like Africa. They are so tall and have such long legs they can run as fast as, or faster than, a horse. A PAIR OF OSTRICHES AT HOME. They have their nests in a hollow on the ground. The Hottentot likes ostrich eggs to eat. One ostrich egg is as big as sixteen hen’s eggs. So it makes a breakfast for a number of people. The Hottentot breaks a hole in the small end of the egg, stirs up the contents with a stick, and then sets it over the fire to cook. There is somebody else who likes ostrich eggs too, and that somebody is a kind of fox. He comes when the ostrich is away and helps himself. Sometimes the ostrich comes home and finds him at it. Many other people like to wear ostrich plumes as well as Matty. So there is a large trade in them. The wild ostrich does not supply feathers enough for the market, so ostriches are now raised like turkeys and hens. This business is called “ostrich farming.” The ostriches are kept in large yards, and the plumes are taken out every year. Aunt Sarah told all this to Matty. “And so,” said Matty, stroking the long white plume, “this feather has ridden on the back of an ostrich in Africa; I wish it could tell me what it has seen.” Two foxes try to take an ostrich egg SOMEBODY ELSE WHO LIKES EGGS. |
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