"Near at hand is a collection of mammals, the kangaroo family. The
kangaroo is the largest mammal of Australia. It is generally a
peace-loving animal, but bites, scratches, and claws if it is
teased. Its best defence however is flight." All these technical
details left the good woman cold. What she remembered best were
the practical qualities of the creatures. The kangaroo has one
very great peculiarity, the female has a pouch, a sort of bag, in
which she hides her young if danger appears, just as the soldier
has his knapsack.
For the first time in her life Mother Etienne was much struck
By certain resemblances between animals and human beings,
finding in them actions, looks, and habits which reminded her
irresistibly of many of her acquaintances. It was amongst the
monkeys that it was the most marked. Two chimpanzees, with pensive
faces garbed in black, seemed to be mourning some beloved
relative. It was as though their sad but shining eyes, gazing at
the straw which half-covered them, were seeking something hidden,
intangible.
A family of big African monkeys, by their challenging, crafty air,
reminded her unpleasantly of a band of good-for-nothings who for
months had spread terror and desolation throughout the country.
The chief--or the one who appeared to be the chief--the biggest
and strongest, hurled himself at the bars and shook them in his
clenched hands. He would certainly have enjoyed strangling Mother
Etienne, had he been able to do so.
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