No one
would have guessed that the descendants of this feeble,
defenseless little brute would eventually rule the earth, killing
off tigers, lions and the other huge monsters at pleasure.
We have before called your attention in this column to the fact
that the monkey, or some animal like him, had the honor of
contributing our proud human services as the world's rulers
BECAUSE HE COULD USE HIS BRAIN.
That fight between the monkey and the cobra illustrates this
quite clearly.
The monkey was a little monkey, with scarcely enough muscle to
strangle a hen.
His little black finger-nails could hurt nobody. His teeth were
fit only to nibble fruit or to chatter in rage at his fellow
monkeys.
This monkey had the misfortune to annoy a huge cobra.
Mr. Cobra is the most dangerous, the most formidably armed, of
all living animals. He is a solid mass of muscle, gifted with
lightning speed. The slightest touch of his fangs means death.
The brain of the cobra is about as big as a mustard seed. The
brain of the monkey--even a small one--is several hundred times
as big as the brain of the largest snake. We refer to the
cerebrum, the front brain, which does the thinking.
The monkey annoyed the snake, and the snake chased him. Mr.
Monkey, shrieking and chattering, rushed over the ground until he
came to a rock.
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