Dear me ! how my wretched little nose did ache , and how people laughed at me ! '' and Mrs. Jo shook her head in a dismal way , as if the memory of her sufferings was too much for her . Rob looked deeply impressed and I am glad to say took the warning to heart . Demi proposed that they should bury poor Annabella , and in the interest of the funeral Teddy forgot his fright . Daisy was soon consoled by another batch of dolls from Aunt Amy , and the Naughty Kitty-mouse seemed to be appeased by the last offerings , for she tormented them no more . `` Brops '' was the name of a new and absorbing play , invented by Bangs . As this interesting animal is not to be found in any Zoological Garden , unless Du Chaillu has recently brought one from the wilds of Africa , I will mention a few of its peculiar habits and traits , for the benefit of inquiring minds . The Brop is a winged quadruped , with a human face of a youthful and merry aspect . When it walks the earth it grunts , when it soars it gives a shrill hoot , occasionally it goes erect , and talks good English . Its body is usually covered with a substance much resembling a shawl , sometimes red , sometimes blue , often plaid , and , strange to say , they frequently change skins with one another . On their heads they have a horn very like a stiff brown paper lamp-lighter . Wings of the same substance flap upon their shoulders when they fly ; this is never very far from the ground , as they usually fall with violence if they attempt any lofty flights . They browse over the earth , but can sit up and eat like the squirrel . Their favorite nourishment is the seed-cake ; apples also are freely taken , and sometimes raw carrots are nibbled when food is scarce . They live in dens , where they have a sort of nest , much like a clothes-basket , in which the little Brops play till their wings are grown . These singular animals quarrel at times , and it is on these occasions that they burst into human speech , call each other names , cry , scold , and sometimes tear off horns and skin , declaring fiercely that they `` wo n't play . '' The few privileged persons who have studied them are inclined to think them a remarkable mixture of the monkey , the sphinx , the roc , and the queer creatures seen by the famous Peter Wilkins . This game was a great favorite , and the younger children beguiled many a rainy afternoon flapping or creeping about the nursery , acting like little bedlamites and being as merry as little grigs . To be sure , it was rather hard upon clothes , particularly trouser-knees , and jacket-elbows ; but Mrs. Bhaer only said , as she patched and darned , `` We do things just as foolish , and not half so harmless .
If I could get as much happiness out of it as the little dears do , I 'd be a XXXXX myself . ''
Africa Bhaer Brop English Jo Rob Wilkins flap grunts roc