FOUR BEASTS IN ONE (1833)

Like "Tale of Jerusalem," this naturalistic tale is based on a bit of archaic lore. A narrator relates to the reading audience a story of ancient Antioch. It seems that at one point in history, both wild and tame animals were allowed to run free in the streets. This seems to work out well until the advent of the city's ruler-in-name-only: a huge "cameleopard" (giraffe), which the citizens of Antioch have decided to elevate to kingship. The long-necked fellow attracts the gustatory lusts of the roaming predators (certainly a lot of food-motifs in the early stories), and that's the end of the Giraffe King. More erudition for its own sake.