A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals

Published in 1924, this collection gathers one hundred true anecdotes from around the world, each capturing a moment when an animal surprised humans with its intelligence, loyalty, or unexpected emotion. A Newfoundland dog travels miles to fetch its master from town. An elephant, having killed its handler in a moment of rage, adopts the man's child as amends. A magpie spends days trying to replicate the sound of a trumpet. A dog refuses to leave its master's grave. What makes these tales enduring is not their scientific accuracy but their infectious wonder: Billinghurst collected them from sailors, naturalists, and farmers, people who had actually watched animals and been moved enough to write them down. The prose is simple, direct, and utterly sincere, the kind of writing that doesn't condescend to its readers or its subjects. These are stories for anyone who has ever looked at an animal and suspected there was more going on behind its eyes.