Part 21

4. As he sails through the air, he falls toward the ground; but he can carry his legs and tail in such a way that, just before he strikes, he shoots upward a little way, and lands on a tree, some distance above the ground.

5. The flying squirrel is covered with soft, fine fur, but the covering of the flying-sail is finer than that of any other part. It has large eyes, for seeing in the night. It sleeps most of the day, and comes out after sunset in search of food.

6. A squirrel makes a pretty pet, and sometimes it becomes so tame that it runs about like a dog. A squirrel was once found in its nest before its eyes were opened, and brought to the house.

7. It became very tame, and, after it grew up, it would watch its master when he went out, and get into his pocket, where it would stay and peep out to the people it met.

8. When they came to a country place, the squirrel would leap out, run along the road, climb to the tops of the trees, nibble the leaves and bark, and then scamper after his master, and nestle down into his pocket again.

THE OWL.

An owl sat in a hollow tree, And cried the whole day through: "I can not see; the sun blinds me. Ah, what am I to do?"

When night was dark, the owl looked out, And thought he'd leave his house: For "light," said he, "has come to me-- I'll go and catch a mouse."

The mouse he caught, and then he cried: "What next am I to do? The woods shall ring, I'll sit and sing, Too-whit, too-whit, too-whoo!"

LESSON XL.

BO-PEEP AND THE SQUIRREL.

Little Bo-peep said to her sheep, "In the wood there is tender grass growing; And as you're so good, you shall dine in the wood, By the brook that is quietly flowing."

Then a squirrel hard by looked down with a sigh, And said, "Oh, please go away, ma'am! The acorns are mine, and the nuts too, so fine; And in the woods always I play, ma'am."

Then little Bo-peep at the squirrel did peep: "No harm we are going to do, sir; My sheep are not thieves, and, under the leaves Of the wood, there is room for us too, sir.

"But I wish to be just: so here's a soft crust Of white bread of my mother's own baking; And I'll give you a slice, which you'll find very nice, If you'll join us in our merry-making."

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If you saw a goat Buttoned in a coat; If you saw a rat Dressed up in a hat; If you saw a lamb Take a slice of ham; If you saw a bear Combing out its hair; If you saw an ox Opening a box; If you saw a pig Eat a nice new fig; If you saw a mouse Throwing down a house; If you saw a stag Picking up a rag; If you saw a cow Make a pretty bow; If you saw a fly Take its slate and cry-- You would surely say, "What peculiar play!" Or would surely sing, "What a funny thing!"

LESSON XLI.

HOW THE MOLE LOOKS.

1. Here we have the mole--a very curious animal. It is about the size of a rat, and is covered with a dark brown coat of fine fur. The fur does not lie back, as on the cat, but stands out straight from the body.

2. The legs of the mole are short, and are so formed that it can not stand upon them and raise its body from the ground.

3. The fore legs are large and strong, and each paw has five toes, armed with strong nails. When its toes are together, its fore paw is like a spade; and when they are spread apart, it is like a fork.

4. It has small ears, which are out of sight in the fur; and something like eyes, also deep in the fur, so that it can not see, or at most it can only tell when it is light and when it is dark.

5. Its nose is pointed, and its teeth are all sharp, like those of the cat, but are so small that they look like the points of white needles.

6. What does this little blind animal, that can only creep along, do? how can he get a living? and how does it get away from enemies?

7. We see that all its limbs are so small and set so close to its body that it can easily creep through small holes. Its hair stands out, so that it can crawl both ways.

8. It has no eyes, because it lives in the dark, and does not need to see to get its food.

9. Its nose is pointed and keen, so that it gets its food by scent instead of sight. By scent, too, it can tell when danger is nigh.