im, for his skin is valuable, and his flesh is very good to eat. But
if the giraffe is a young one, he will follow his captors without
difficulty, for these animals are naturally very gentle.

Why the natives of Africa should desire to obtain living giraffes,
unless it is to sell them to people who wish to carry them to other
countries, travellers do not inform us. We have never heard that any
domestic use was made of them, nor that they were kept for the sake of
their meat. But we suppose the hunters know their own business.

It is probable that the lion is really the greatest enemy of the
giraffe. It is not often that this crafty and powerful hunter will put
himself within reach of his victim's heels. Approaching softly and
slowly, the lion waits until he is quite near the giraffe, and then,
with one bound, he springs upon his back. Sometimes the giraffe
succeeds in shaking him off, but generally they both fall
together--the giraffe dead, and the lion with his appetite whetted for
an enormous dinner.

UP IN THE AIR.

[Illustration: UP IN A BALLOON.]

[Illustration]

We have already taken a journey under the earth, and now, if you like,
we will try a trip in the air. Anything for a novelty. We have lived
on the surface of the earth ever since we were born.

We will make our ascent in a balloon. It has been thought by some
folks, that there were easier methods of ascending into the air than
by a cumbrous balloon, but their inventions never became popular.

For instance, look at the picture of a flying-man.

This gentleman had an idea that he could fly by the aid of this
ingenious machinery. You will see that his wings are arranged so that
they are moved by his legs, and also by cords attached to his arms.
The umbrella over his head is not intended to ward off the rain or the
sun, but is to act as a sort of parachute, to keep him from falling
while he is making his strokes. The basket, which hangs down low
enough to be out of the way of his feet, is filled with provisions,
which he expects to need in the course of his journey.

That journey lasted exactly as long as it took him to fall from the
top of a high rock to the ground below.

But we are not going to trust ourselves to any such _harem-scarem_
contrivance as this. We are going up in a regular balloon.

We all know how balloons are made, and this one of ours is like most
others. It is a great globular bag, made of strips of silk sewn
together