James Johonnot

“ As it digs forward, it pushes the dirt backward, and it will go a long way in a little while. Its hind legs drag behind, and, as they have little to do, they are weak.
4. It digs along in the dark when its keen little nose scents a worm or a grub; this it pushes into its mouth with its paw, and eats in an instant.
5. The meat which it finds below ground has no bones; so its small teeth are all that it needs to chew with. In some safe place, nearly always at the foot of a tree, the mole throws up a little mound of dirt, and in the middle of it builds its nest of dried grass. ”

“ The brown thrush, or brown thrasher as it is sometimes called, is bold and strong, and when a cat or fox comes prowling about near its nest it flies at him so savagely that he is glad to get out of the way. ”

“ HOW GEESE LOOK AND LIVE.
1. The goose and the duck are much alike in looks and ways. The legs of the goose are longer, so that it stands higher and can walk better on land.
2. The goose is larger than the duck, its neck longer, and its wings broader. Its feet are webbed, so that it can swim well in the water.
3. Its bill is broad and more pointed than that of a duck. Its wings are very strong, and it is able to fly a great distance without rest.
4. When in the water it does not dive like the duck, but it thrusts its bill down into the water or mud the length of its long neck. ”

“ In summer, when walking out in country places, we often find pretty little snail-shells. Some of these are empty, and some have a live snail within.
2. The shell is the snail's house. It is a queer house, as it grows on him, as hair grows on a cat; and he carries it about on his back when he walks.
3. The snail lives upon plants. In the day he finds some safe place under a stone, or in a hole, draws himself into his house, and goes to sleep. In the night he comes out and feeds. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The woodchuck is about twice the size of the common rabbit. Its body is thick, and it has short legs, armed with long, naked nails.
2. It has small, round ears, and a short, bushy tail. It has a thick coat of coarse fur, long whiskers, like a cat, and chisel-teeth for gnawing. It lives upon fruit and the leaves of plants, and is very fond of red clover.
3. When walking, its hind legs do not stand up like those of a cat or dog; but the leg up to the first joint comes down flat upon the ground.
4. With its strong claws it digs a hole in the ground for a home. ”

“ When the real mother came back, she was in great distress; but the bantam kept the nest, and in a few days hatched out as many of the eggs as she could cover.
9. She then strutted about at the head of her company of chickens, and passed them off upon her feathered friends as her own.
10. Hens are usually timid, and they run or fly away when they see any danger. But in defence of their chicks they are often very bold.
11. A rat one day went into a chicken-house where there was a brood of young chickens. The old hen pounced upon him, and a fierce battle took place. ”

“ The toad, like the frog, is usually born in the water, and is at first a tadpole. When it loses its gills and tail, it comes out of the water and lives upon the land, until it goes into the water again in the spring to lay its eggs.
4. Sometimes the toad can not reach the water at the proper time, and then the tadpole changes to a perfect toad soon after it is hatched. [131]
5. The toad feeds on insects, and is very useful about the garden, as it picks off the grubs and beetles that destroy the fruit and flowers.
6. It eats only living insects, and it never chases its prey. ”

“ His toes are not strong, like those of the rat or rabbit, but they are long and slender, and we know that he does not dig holes in the ground. The nails are not strong enough to catch prey, but are long, thin, sharp, and bent at their tips.
5. Then we find that the squirrel can turn all his toes around so that the nails point backward, and we see that he is made for running up and down trees, where he has his home.
6. Now we see what he does with his sharp cutting-teeth. He lives upon nuts, and his teeth are for gnawing through the hard shell, to get at the kernel inside. ”

“ The bill of the swan is broad, and pointed like that of the goose, but a little longer. Below the eyes, and at the base of the bill, a narrow band of black extends across the front of the head.
5. The swans run in pairs. The mother swan lays from five to eight eggs, and hatches them in six weeks. The young swans are called cygnets. They are covered with down, and are able to walk and swim when first out of the shell.
6. The father swan watches the nest, and helps take care of the young ones. He will fly at anything that comes near, and he is able to strike terrible blows with his wings. ”

“ When winter comes, the woodchuck rolls himself up in his nest and goes to sleep until spring. He is very fat when he takes to his bed in the fall, but is lean when he comes out ready for his next summer's work. ”

“ The hind feet of the rat are made in a curious way: they can turn round so that the claws point back. This enables a rat, when it runs down the side of a house, to turn its feet around and hold on, while it goes down head foremost.
5. The tail of the rat is made up of rings, and is covered with scales and very short hair. The rat uses it like a hand to hold himself up and to take hold of things. ”

“ When the squirrel eats a nut, he takes it in his paws, sits up straight, with his tail curled over his back, and nips off the shell in little bites, turning it about as easily as we could with our hands. ”

“ In schools much labor has been spent in trying to produce human speaking-machines. Words are built up out of letters; short words are grouped into inane sentences such as are never used; and sentences are arranged into unnatural and insipid discourse. To grasp the thin ghost of the thought, the little human spirit must reverse its instinct to [6] reach toward the higher, and, mole-like, burrow downward. ”

“ One day a sparrow-hawk flew down into a farm-yard to catch a chicken. A cock about a year old at once darted at him and threw him on his back.
14. While lying there he could defend himself [23] with his talons and beak; but when he rose and tried to take wing, the cock rushed at him and upset him the second time.
15. The hawk by this time thought more of getting away than he did of his dinner; but the cock kept him down until somebody came and caught him.
16. The cock looks after the hens and chicks, and is ready to fight for them in time of danger. ”

“ The matter selected for these higher and better purposes must possess a human interest. The thoughts that bear fruit are those with roots set in past experiences, but which, outgrowing these experiences, reach out toward new light. ”

“ As the squirrel is made to climb trees and live on nuts, he builds his nest there, and makes the tree his home. He finds some hollow place in the tree, or he builds where some large limb branches off, so that his nest can not well be seen from below. ”

“ Rabbits increase so fast that if they were not kept down they would soon eat up all the plants of our gardens and fields. So a great many animals and birds feed upon them, and a great many are killed for their meat and fur.
5. When first born, the little rabbits are blind, like puppies and kittens, and their bodies are naked. The mother rabbit makes a warm nest for them of dried leaves, and she lines it with fur from her own body. ”

“ While giving prominence to the facts that inform, we have not been unmindful of the fancy that stimulates. The steady flow of description is frequently interrupted by the ripple of story and verse. While we have made no effort to secure the favor of Mr. Gradgrind by looking at facts only on their lower side, we trust that our effort may prove of some service in the anxious work of parent and teacher. ”

“ Beginning with familiar forms of life, the pupil is led to see more clearly that which is about him, and then to advance into the realm of the unknown with assured steps, in the tried paths of investigation and comparison. ”

“ In carrying off eggs, several rats will often go together. A rat will curl his tail around an egg, and roll it along. Coming to a staircase, they will hand the egg one to another so carefully as not to break it. ”

“ We have but two legs for walking or running, our fore legs being arms, and our paws, hands.
5. These new friends, the chickens, have but two legs, and in this way are more like boys and girls than are cats and dogs.
6. But the chicken has the same number of limbs as the others, only those in front are wings instead of fore legs or arms.
7. Here is a picture of the legs and feet of a hen. We see that the legs are covered with scales, and that each foot has four toes, three pointing forward and one back. Each toe has a long, sharp, and strong nail. ”

“ When the hen walks, she folds her wings close by her side; but when she flies, she spreads them out like a fan. Her body is so heavy that she can fly but a little ways without resting.
2. At night fowls find a place to roost upon a tree, or a piece of timber placed high on purpose for them. Their toes cling around the stick that they stand on, so that they do not fall off. ”

“ When they live out in the woods and fields, rabbits have many cruel foes. One of the worst of these is the owl, who, prowling about in the dark, springs upon the poor rabbit, and breaks its neck with one fierce stroke of its sharp bill.
11. As a rabbit can not defend itself by fighting, it has long ears to detect danger, and swift feet to get away from an enemy. When alarmed, away it goes, with a hop, skip, and jump, and like a flash passes out of sight.
LESSON XXXVI.
[101]
HOW THE HARE LIVES.
1. ”

“ The claws, or talons, are strong, sharp, and hooked, and the leg above is short and strong.
6. The hawk preys upon chickens, the smaller birds, squirrels, and other small animals. The eagle will carry off hens, turkeys, rabbits, lambs, and the like. They have been known to carry off a baby.
7. The hawk and the eagle seize their prey, not with their beaks, but with their talons. They [69] drive their long, sharp nails into the flesh, and the chicken or rabbit is dead in a few minutes. ”

“ It has short, stout legs, and webbed feet, [40] like the duck, and it waddles along on the land in a slow and awkward way. It is clothed with feathers of a fine quality, like the goose, and those we see in this country are pure white. Black swans are found in some countries.
3. Its neck is much longer than that of the goose, and when it swims, sitting high in the water, with its long neck arched, it is one of the most graceful birds in the world. It has strong wings, and wild swans can fly a long distance without tiring. Tame swans do not fly far. ”

“ Fowls live upon grain, bugs, and worms. [16] With their long nails and strong toes they scratch in the earth, and with their sharp bills they pick up anything which they find good to eat.
4. If the morsel of food found is too large to be swallowed whole, they pick it to pieces with their bills. The old hen always picks the food to pieces for her chickens.
5. The hen lays eggs, usually one every day, until she has laid from fifteen to twenty. If her eggs are carried away, she will continue to lay for a longer time. ”

“ The squirrels that we see most often are the little chattering red squirrel, and the gray squirrel, which is about twice as large. In the West and South, a large squirrel, that is partly red and partly gray, is called a fox-squirrel. ”

“ The rabbits that we have for pets are of various colors, but mostly white or black, or part white and part black. They do not dig into the earth as the wild ones do, but they love to have their homes in snug little places, like holes.
8. The hind legs of the rabbit are longer than its fore ones, and, instead of walking, it hops along. When it runs, it springs forward with great leaps, and gets over the ground very fast.
9. Pet rabbits that have large ears sell most readily. ”

“ When taken from their home a great distance, pigeons will fly straight back.
9. Before we had railroads and telegraphs, people would take pigeons away from home, and send them back with a letter tied under their wings. These were called carrier-pigeons.
10. The doves in each home are very fond of each other. We can hear the father dove softly cooing to his mate at almost any time when they are about.
11. One day a farmer shot a male dove, and tied the body to a stake to scare away other birds. The poor widow was in great distress. ”

“ Sometimes, when he comes up from the water, an old eagle that has been on the watch pounces upon him. The hawk tries to get away, but the eagle soon overtakes him.
12. With an angry scream the hawk drops the fish, and the eagle swoops downward so quickly that he catches the fish before it reaches the water. With his prey in his talons, he then soars away to his nest in the tree-tops, or high up among the rocks on the mountain-side.
LESSON XXII.
[70]
LONG LEGS WITH FEATHERS.
1. ”