1. Write a humorous animal story based on the material in the following news story:
Just because they thought an ostrich was a timid, harmless sort
of creature, two men, one white and one black, were badly hurt
at Mineola, Long Island, yesterday. Each of the men tried to
catch and hold an ostrich at the Mineola Fair Grounds. The negro
was kicked in the face, and landed about 20 feet from the bird;
the white man was kicked in the chest and knocked down and had
his clothes torn off him.
The ostrich that did all the damage is named Fleetwing. He and another ostrich, named Fleetfoot, arrived from Florida in two crates yesterday morning. They were brought to Mineola to race on the fair grounds this week at the fair of the Queens-Nassau County Agricultural Society. The birds have been trained to run races and pull light sulkies to which they are harnessed.
They are bad tempered, however, and are kept blindfolded frequently when they are not racing. A blindfolded ostrich is gentle as a lamb.
The blinding hood slipped off the eyes of Fleetwing at the fair grounds yesterday morning and in an instant the big bird was out of its crate, which was not covered. It started off on a run, and about two hundred persons ran after it. There was a merry chase around and around the racing track, and finally the ostrich was cornered.
A big negro looked at the ostrich and said:
"I reckon there ain't no chicken ever were raised that I couldn't hold, boss. I'll hold his laig, an' then you grab his haid."
The negro wrapped his arms about one of Fleetwing's legs and in a second was lifted into the air and landed about 20 feet away, with an ugly wound in the side of his face. Then Keeper Ford approached the ostrich from the front, and got an uppercut on his diaphragm, cutting his chest and tearing his clothes. Finally the ostrich was roped and recrated.
"That ain't no chicken," said the negro as he watched these proceedings from a safe distance. "That there's a two-laiged mule."
2. Make a more entertaining "Zoo" story out of the facts in
the following article:
The Chinese wildcat in the Central Park Zoo has received a
new lease of life, according to the keepers there, and a graphophone
may be used now to make life seem more worth while to
