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Show Kiddies' Evening Story By MARY GRAHAM BONNER Zoo Vultures "I'm the grandest of the lot," snld King Vulture. "I wear truiy kingly robes. "I look magnificent mag-nificent and my feathers are the feathers a king should h a v e that Is, if a king is going in for feathers, mine are the kind to have. "Before I came to the zoo I lived in Brazil. Bra-zil. But I was so hands ome they wanted to show me to the zoo people so they brought me here, and here I am, "I'm Grandest." wearing my gorgeous yellow and white and black suit and my splendid head trimmings of purple and orange and crimson red." "They brought .me here, too," said the Black Vulture. "Not because of your beanty, however," said King Vulture. "You were brought because you are one of a useful lot and they wanted to show your kind. You were constantly con-stantly picking up all trash that would be unhealthy If left about. "Yes, that is why you were brought here." "Now don't boast too much," said Yellow-Headed Vulture, "for I am supposed to be far more handsome hand-some than either of you." "Well," said King Vulture, "that may be true, but you're not really as fine as I am, for you are delicate deli-cate when here In the zoo just as the various members of your family fam-ily always are." "I'm a pretty worth-while object to look upon," said the California Condor. "You are rare and yon are interesting," inter-esting," said King Vulture, "but you're not the king." "I'm Interesting," said the Griffon Grif-fon Vulture, "for though my ways and the ways of the members of my family are the ways of vultures, still we are very much nearer relatives rela-tives to the eagles than most can boast of, and that is the troth." "I feed on lambs," said the Lam-mergeyer Lam-mergeyer or Bearded Vulture, "and my home was In Asia before I was brought to the zoo." "I guess the lambs weren't aorry to see you go," said King Vulture. "Probably not," said the Bearded Vulture. "I didn't expect them to give me a party before I left "I said to myself upon leaving: "1 am sure the lambs will not Bhed any tears because I am leaving. leav-ing. And so my going will not make them unhappy. " 'Neither will they have to go to any expense on my account. They will not have to give me a farewell dinner and a present aa a token of their esteem. "'They will not have to take up a collection among all the lambs so as to get enough to give me a handsome present. "They will not have to do any of these things. By my rough ways with them they are being saved expense ex-pense and trouble.' "Yes, I said all this to myself." "You had quite a talk with yourself, your-self, didn't you?", asked King Vulture. Vul-ture. "Quite," said Bearded Vulture. "And I enjoyed It, too." "It's Just as well to enjoy your own conversation when you have to hear yourself talk," said Yellow-Headed Yellow-Headed Vulture. "Well," said King Vulture, "I was asked not long ago what I did when I got angry and fought "And I've had so many pressing engagements that I haven't answered an-swered that question before." "What pressing engagements did you have?" the Bearded Vulture inquired. "You might ask," said King Vulture. Vul-ture. "In fact, you 'have already asked. But I cannot tell you what they were because I didn't have any engagements at all. "I said that because, you know, people are always talking about how busy they are and that they didn't get around to doing this and they d 1 d n't get around to doing that, and so I thought I would act In the same way. "Well, I shall answer the question now, and I hope those who asked It will bear the answer! an-swer! It would ie a pity If they aldn't, but I feel sure they The Lammer-gtytr. Will 1 "I fight with my beak. It Is the ! Vulture Family way. The eagles fight with their claws. I suppose there are some people who like to know all they can about us. I don't blame them. To my Vulture mind we're Interesting, but to some Creatures we're horrible hor-rible in appearance and far from being well liked 1" (. 1983. Western Newspaper Union.) |