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CHAPTER XXXV.

PRACTICAL JOKES.

CERTAIN animals, including species and genera so different as monkeys, apes, orangs and baboons, the dog, cat, horse, elephant, rabbit and squirrel, the parrot, mocking bird, starling, magpie, and goose, not only perpetrate practical jokes on each other, or on man, but they enter thoroughly into the spirit of the joke or fun: they enjoy, exult in their or its success.

The motive or object of the joke varies in different cases. It may be dictated simply by a spirit of mischief, or mischievousness in young animals; for instance in monkeys, which are proverbially so given to mere mischief-making, without, in general, any cruel or ulterior object in view, that troublesome children are commonly spoken of by their parents, as young monkeys,' 'mischievous monkeys,' or 'troublesome monkeys.' On the other hand, a practical joke may be the medium of expressing a very refined revenge, of inflicting a very condign punishment.

There was, for instance, very deliberate malice exhibited by the Rhesus monkey, that plucked alive a crow, and left it to be murdered by its own companions (Cassell).

Mischievousness or trickiness, including sometimes a decided love of, or propensity to, practical joking, is a common attribute of youth, in other animals, as in man. All young animals are naturally fond of fun and frolic; and their desire for amusement not unfrequently gratifies itself at the expense of the feelings of other individuals or species. Even in such cases, however, mischief or tricks, whether or not of the character of practical jokes, are usually innocuous, un

less in the occasional case where jest becomes earnest, where what is begun in perfect good humour, terminates in irritability and quarrelsomeness. And in this latter event, what is comical at first, may become even tragical at last.

Among other pre-eminently mischievous animals may be enumerated the magpie (Baird). Trickiness is not uncommon, as a prominent feature, in the character of some of our cage birds (Buist). Mischievousness is a special attribute of certain monkeys, such as the titi, or the marmozet, which derives its main amusement from its destructiveness (Cassell).

Mischievousness, however, is not always simply ludicrous or amusing and innocuous. Nor does it always arise from youthful frolicsomeness. There is much mischievousness that is the product of mental perversion or disorder; much that is malicious in its character, and serious in its results. The squirrel plays on its companions practical jokes that are sometimes fatal (Cassell).

The parrot sometimes succeeds, just as man does, in setting cat and dog by the ears; and in such a case it is morally responsible for the result.

Certain practical jokes involve various refinements of cruelty, and an obvious delight in witnessing the effects of cruelty, the torture of victims. Crows enjoy the impotent fury of their victims (Hall). Monkeys show the 'keenest delight in torturing others, simply for torturing sake,' putting themselves to great trouble in order to gratify their instinct of cruelty. A naturalist, who had lived a long time in India, told me that he has not unfrequently seen monkeys feign death for an hour or two at a time, for the express purpose of inducing crows and other carnivorous birds to approach within grasping distance; and when one of the birds was caught, the delighted monkey put it to all kinds of agonies, of which plucking alive seemed to be a favourite' ("Nature"). The parrot, too, enjoys the punishment of another animal, perhaps for its misdemeanour or practical joke (Animal World').

It does not follow that there is always, though there must be sometimes, realisation, or appreciation of the kind

or amount of pain, bodily or mental, that a victim is undergoing. Thus Thus an American correspondent of Nature' describes a playful kitten as amusing itself by teasing a frog, 'seemingly for the purpose of hearing him cry.' Here there is a selfish amusement at the expense of suffering in another. But it is not at all likely that the kitten had any idea that it was inflicting pain, and that a cry was the natural expression of pain. Indeed, the simple teasing, or tormenting of animals by each other, though provocative of displays of temper, combativeness, retaliation, seldom involve the idea that pain is being inflicted and suffered.

Lady Verney writes of apes and monkeys, as seen at the Zoological Gardens, London: 'An ape will push a bit of apple or bun through his bars, just within reach of his neighbour, and draw it back again before he can get at itgoing on for an hour at a time, for the mere delight of seeing the anger and distress and longing of the poor little victim. No other beast seems to have the wit, or the desire, to enjoy evil in this manner.' Here the pain inflicted is necessarily mental; but it is no less keen on that account. Pain of a purely bodily kind is produced, on the other hand, by a monkey driving a stick into the eye of a crocodile. He went to work with all the caution and seriousness of an old lawyer; and when he had inflicted the joke, he hauled himself aloft with an alacrity that showed he could form a very good estimation of the danger which he ran' (Lawson).

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The success of practical jokes implies deception of, and error in the victims or dupes. Triumph, exultation, or delight, which is sometimes so evident, and is expressed in various ways, involves a clear perception of the nature of the trick or joke, and a consciousness of its success. Miss Cobbe describes the pæans in chorus of a flock of geese at the success of a practical joke of theirs on a number of pigs. The Rhesus monkey shows its triumph by chattering and grinning (Cassell). The parrot appreciates its own jokes, shows joy at least at its success in mischief (Houzeau, Watson). The elephant also enjoys its practical joking, that is, witnessing the effects thereof (Lee). The raven exhibits, as so many other birds do, delight at the success of its mimicry (Low).

Certain animals require sympathy in their joys, as in their griefs; and possibly their love of admiration in some cases must be gratified. Thus the orang plays pranks and delights in them; but only when it has spectators of its tricks (Cassell), when approval or applause would appear to be taken for granted.

Some practical jokes of the lower animals are apt to be as serious to man as to each other. Thus the Animal World' tells us of a sheep, whose fondness for practical fun led it to watch for unwary human bye-passers from the window of the second storey of a granary: and when one was passing immediately underneath the window, this eccentric animal would drop itself suddenly upon him, with all its weight of course. In this case the mischief was gratuitous. But in other cases the practical jokes of animals take the very appropriate form of the punishment of man for his misdeeds -perhaps for his practical jokes on them. The success and appropriateness of such punishment illustrate man's own proverbs, or sayings about the biter bit,' 'diamond cut diamond,' or 'more than his match.' Thus the elephant, dog and parrot sometimes inflict ingenious forms of punishment well deserved on boys or adults who have teased them.

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The mode in which practical jokes are perpetrated by different species and genera varies greatly; and this variation involves great ingenuity, devising the most appropriate means in each case. An orang in a ship's galley, in order to play the cook a trick, used to turn the water cocks' (Büchner).

One of the commonest modes of perpetrating practical jokes is mimicry, imitation of the songs, cries, calls, voicesounds of other animals, including man. But all mimicry does not involve mockery--the intention to make a fool' of another; to lead it into some mishap, to deceive it to its hurt, and to enjoy itself at the victim's expense. Even in the same animal, for instance the mocking bird itself, there may be either, or both, harmless mimicry, and deliberate mockery. And the mockery employed may involve genuine derision, studied insult. The mocking bird mocks, as well as mimics; it engages in deception, intentional, as well as

accidental; it possesses a sense of the ludicrous, or of fun; and it indulges in genuine practical jokes, just as the parrot more frequently and successfully does.

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One of the forms again both of mimicry and mockery is ventriloquism in certain birds. Professor Sir Wyville Thomson informs us how a Brazilian parrot succeeded in making himself and a railway party, of which he was a member, believe they had run over a child. Suddenly the agonised cries of a child, followed by low moanings, rang out from under the wheels. A jerk of the drag pulled the car up, and nearly threw us out of our seats. We jumped out and looked nervously under the truck; but there was no child there.' Nor was the apparent accident explained, tilla large green parrot, in a cage close beside us, went through, no doubt, another of his best performances in the shape of a loud mocking laugh.'

A male chat, described by Dr. Abbott, not only imitated successfully the notes, cries, groans, squeaks, or calls of different animals, including other birds, the squirrel, and the yelping bark of the puppy; not only could it mimic the 'dull creaking of a rusty sign-board,' and the 'cries of some poor creature in distress;' but all this 'mimicry of uncouth sounds' could be uttered as if by another individual in a distant tree, throwing his voice in every direction, other than towards the nest;' so that his notes appeared as if coming from a point several yards distant.' In this case the animal was thoroughly conscious of its ventriloquial power and its effects-deception thereby; and it 'trusted far more to it than to flight, to avoid and mislead its enemies.' It was not surprising that it succeeded in deceiving the naturalist-observer, as well as birds of various kinds, that approached its nest.

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The artificial production of consternation, alarm, fear or fright is one of the common modes resorted to by the parrot and other animals, of playing their tricks, pranks, or jokes (Watson).

The practical jokes of man on other animals; the various tricks that he plays upon them, mainly for the purposes of what he considers 'sport,' may be fitly considered here.

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