Herbert George Wells 
A Deal in Ostriches 

‘A Deal in Ostriches’ is a short story by the British writer H. G. Wells. It is a cautionary tale about simple human greed. The taxidermist of Wells’ story ‘Triumphs of a Taxidermist’ (1894) makes a return appearance as the narrator of the story. The story was originally published anonymously in the December 20th, 1894 issue of the Pall Mall Gazette and later published in the 1895 short story collection ‘The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents’. The story is the tale of a carefully crafted and skillfully executed con that exploited the natural greed the protagonist’s fellow passengers.