We looked at each other for a moment in silence, and then my wife said, "James, what is a stork?"

"A stork, my dear, is a—a—sort of ostrich, I think."

"An ostrich! why that's an enormous——"

"Yes, my dear, the creature that puts its head in the sand, and kicks when it's pursued, you know."

"James, the horrid thing shall not come here! If it should kick baby we should never forgive ourselves."

"No, no, my dear, I don't think the stork is at all ferocious. No, it can't be. Stork! stork! I always associate storks with chimneys. Yes, abroad, I think in Holland, or Germany, or somewhere, the stork sweeps the chimneys with its long legs from the top. But let's see what the Natural History says, my dear. That will tell us all about it. Stork—um—um—'hind toe short, middle toe long, and joined to the outer one by a large membrane, and by a smaller. . . Read More