The Story of an Ostrich: An Allegory and Humorous Satire in Rhyme

In Short

Written in rhymed verse and published alongside expansive prose commentaries, I. J. Potter’s 1903 allegorical work uses a absurd bird to critique social inequality and capital-labor conflict. When a vain ostrich fails to recognize his own homely feet, he furiously pecks at them until they violently retaliate. Neighboring animals step in to arbitrate the dispute, leading to self-absorbed posturing from a peacock and practical observations from a toad, snail, fox, and hatter. The poem endures as a curious artifact of early twentieth-century American satire, blending light animal fable with heavy socio-political critique.

The Story

The narrative centers on a robust ostrich endowed with a remarkably small head and immense speed. Walking through town, the bird catches sight of his own feet. Bothered by their warts, scales, and overall ugliness, his mental inertia prevents him from realizing that these limbs belong to his own body. Distressed that these dirty extremities follow him everywhere, kicking up dust and ruining his dignified image, the ostrich decides to treat them as hated intruders.

Filled with disgust, the ostrich pecks fiercely at his feet with his beak. The violent strikes cut to the bone, sending shivers through his body and causing his heart's blood to ooze onto the dirt. Despite the intense pain, his arrogance prevents him from understanding that his high position rests entirely upon these extremities. He continues his assault, swearing never to recognize the limbs that carry his body.

Eventually, the abused feet reach the limit of endurance. Turning on the bird like the proverbial worm, they kick his head with rapid, brutal force. Weakened, shocked, and in agony, the ostrich buries his head in the sand to hide his shame and block the sight of his mangled limbs. A neighboring farmer-animal notices the violence spilling onto his land and steps in, urging both sides to submit to formal arbitration to avoid total destruction.

A tribunal of animals convenes in a sand-pit to settle the quarrel. A peacock presides over the hearing, while a toad, snail, fox, and hatter assemble to hear the arguments. The ostrich speaks first, complaining hoarsely that his damp, dirty feet constantly offend his sensibilities and act as though they deserve silk stockings. The feet, unable to speak, offer their bloody wounds as silent testimony.

The panel members deliver their verdicts. The fox uses his time to complain about false accusations surrounding his midnight raids on henroosts. The toad croaks that the ostrich overestimates his intellect, noting his head is simply too small for his body. The snail slowly points out that a giant ostrich could crush them all, while the hatter logically explains that heads and feet serve distinct, complementary roles designed by nature.

The peacock dismisses all their insights, struts vanity-first in the sun, and argues that noble creatures should naturally feel ashamed of low, dirty feet. He abruptly adjourns the proceedings without reaching a formal verdict. Nevertheless, the process forces the ostrich to reflect. Realizing his vanity led him into sheer folly, he resolves to cease attacking his foundation, emerging from the trial as a humbler, kinder creature.

How It Unfolds

The foot discovery An ostrich notices two dirty, scaled limbs following him through the streets and feels immediate disgust toward them.

The self-inflicted attack Failing to grasp that the ugly feet support his body, the bird pecks them violently until they bleed profusely.

The feet retaliate Exhausted by the abuse, the feet strike back against the bird's head, forcing the agonizingly wounded ostrich to bury his face in the sand.

The call for arbitration A concerned neighbor intervenes to protect his own farm from the chaos, proposing a formal council to resolve the dispute.

The council convenes A panel of animals—including a peacock chairman, a fox, a toad, a snail, and a hatter—gathers in a sand-pit to hear the grievances.

The animal verdicts The panel members offer rambling, eccentric opinions on the matter, ranging from self-serving excuses to practical lectures on anatomy.

The bird's awakening Though the peacock dismisses the council without a resolution, the humbled ostrich recognizes his own foolishness and resolves to live in harmony with his limbs.

The People

• The Ostrich represents the governing class or intellectual leadership. Driven by vanity and small-minded pride, he despises his low, ugly feet and tries to destroy them, only to realize his survival depends entirely on their labor. His ordeal transforms him from a loud, self-centered creature into a humble, quiet animal.
• The Feet represent the laboring masses and lower orders of society. They silently bear the burden of carrying the bird through the dirt, but when pushed past the limit of endurance, they revolt violently against the abusive head.
• The Peacock serves as the arrogant chairman of the arbitration council. He cares only for his shimmering plumage and vanity, ruling with harsh dismissiveness and arguing that superior creatures should naturally despise their lower extremities.
• The Hatter acts as the voice of practical logic on the tribunal. He argues that nature assigned specific, complementary duties to both the head and the feet, urging the council to treat the issue with seriousness.
• The Fox, Toad, and Snail serve as fellow arbiters. The fox uses the court to air personal grievances about his ruined reputation, the toad criticizes the ostrich's oversized ego, and the snail warns of the physical danger an out-of-control ostrich poses to smaller creatures.

In Its Own Voice

"So far from his head did they seem to be located, / He failed to take note that upon each were notated / Scales, warts and abrasions, nails, ossification, / Which proved them a part of his own corporation."

The poem introduces the ostrich's absurd failure to recognize his own lower body, mistaking his feet for unwanted intruders.

"'I know of no reason for this state of things, / Nor why my two feet should expect, by their flings, / To dictate to me with whom I shall travel, / Annoy me by constantly scratching the gravel...'"

The ostrich presents his case to the animal council, complaining that his hardworking limbs have become unmanageably demanding.

"By the ostrich is meant mankind, great and small, / Weak and strong, rich and poor, thin and fat, short and tall, / Let loose for awhile, in earth's paddock confined, / An attempt of the gods to rear more of their kind..."

The closing stanzas abandon the animal allegory to state the satire's central moral directly to the reader.

What It's Really About

Beneath its rhyming animal fable, the book presents a direct political critique of modern economic inequality and class warfare. The ostrich’s head symbolizes social elites, political leaders, and captains of industry, while his battered feet represent the working masses who uphold the entire social structure. By depicting the head attacking its own limbs, the book argues that elite scorn for labor is a form of self-destructive madness. The accompanying prose commentary deepens this argument, examining labor strikes, corporate greed, and the systemic failure of leaders to care for the foundational layers of society. The allegory insists that societal harmony requires recognizing mutual dependence under a shared moral law, warning that ignoring the lower orders inevitably leads to violent upheaval.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers interested in early 1900s American political satire, populist social critiques, and eccentric literary curiosities. Potter's verse carries a rhythmic, lighthearted cadence that contrasts sharply with its grave economic subject matter. The reading experience is further shaped by the original edition's publisher note and extensive prose essays interspersed throughout the poem, which explicitly unpack the labor allegory for the reader.

The book does present distinct reading hurdles. The verse relies on occasional forced rhymes, deliberate doggerel, and period slang, while the accompanying prose essays adopt a dense, sermon-like tone heavily influenced by mystic spiritualism and late-nineteenth-century reform movements. Modern readers may find the explicit explanations of the satire somewhat heavy-handed, as the prose frequently insists on interpreting what the verse has already illustrated. Yet for those exploring how turn-of-the-century writers used fable to comment on industrial conflict, capital, and labor, this work stands as a unique, highly visual artifact of American satirical literature.