SEPTEMBER 6: The Animals’ Talk
“Of course it is true we do not speak the language people speak. We have our own way of talking, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t talk,” said Larry, the monkey.
“It is just as absurd, I think, for people to say that of animals as it would be for the animals to tell American people that they can’t talk because they don’t speak like all the other people in the world, or to tell the French people that they can’t talk because there are people who speak quite differently from them.
“When we are unhappy we make certain sounds and words of our own.
“When we are frightened we have other sounds to make. When we are pleased we have still others. When we are playing we have others again.
“And so have all the animals. The Bears have different kinds of growls for different things they mean to say.
“The Deer can talk, oh so well!
“The Chimpanzees and the Orang-utans are great talkers and they know a lot, too. Don’t people know that? Haven’t they ever seen and heard a Chimpanzee and his keeper talking?
“Then if they haven’t, I just wish they would! And I wish they’d come and hear me when I chat with my keeper. He understands me.
“He knows what I want and why I want it, and when I want it. He knows whether I feel well or sick. He understands me perfectly, and I understand him.
“Dogs talk, as every one surely must know! And Mr. Siberian Tiger talks. He told the keeper how pleased he was the other day when the keeper rubbed his back through the side of the cage.
“He actually purred like a pussy cat!
“And the Wolves! How they talk whether they are here in the zoo or whether they are free!
“The Bears all talk. And the Rabbits talk. Their thumping sounds are words, oh yes, indeed.
“Mother Rabbit thumps the ground when danger is near; instead of saying ‘Danger,’ as people do, Rabbits thump their word ‘Danger.’
“Beavers talk. Prairie Dogs talk, and one of them always guards when the rest are playing above ground and the one who is guarding certainly knows how to say ‘Danger’ when danger is near.
“The Striped Chipmunk talks, too. He can tell you that he is happy living about the rocky ground where he makes his home. He knows how to warn of danger, and he talks of the things he likes to eat.
“Dear me, all animals talk! Of course they do! And every sound they make means something. Our talks must be translated into the language of people if they’re to understand what we’re saying, but if they study us and our talk they’ll be able to translate what we have to say.”