Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

Last winter during the hard frost which prevailed in England an inhabitant of Gloucestershire, back of the Sovern, near Bristol, lost a fine goose, which it was supposed had dived under the ice of a pond where it was wont to take its recreation, and lost its life. Five weeks afterwards the ice became partially dissolved by the mild weather, a strange looking skeleton, clad in rotten feathers, and in appearance the very ghost of a goose, emerged from the water, and proceeded to make acquaintance with the denizens of the kitchen. At first the proffered familiarity was all received, but at length the missing goose of five weeks previous having come to mind, the poor bird “had his claim allowed” and by dint of nursing, recovered, and is likely to brave many more winters. The poor animal’s body must have been for five weeks immersed in the water, by which the feathers became completely destroyed, and its retention of life under the ice can only be accounted for by the daily watering of the horses having left space between the ice and the water, which enabled the bird to breathe. Its attempts to liberate itself by pecking up at the ice had completely worn away the bony part of the bill.