The Burgess Animal Book for Children

dless at times. The result was that as he hopped out of a bramble-tangle just within the edge of the Green Forest, he all but landed in something worse than the worst

!" exclai

ou had a few of my little spears sticking in you this very minute, and it would serve you right." He waddled along a few step

ou're going to school, Prickly Porky. You're a Rodent,

a Porcupine," grunted P

kind of teeth is a Rodent," retorted Peter. Then at a sudden thought a funny look pa

ool, anyway? Don't want to go to school. Know all I want to know. Know how to get all I want to eat and how to make everybody get out of my way and leave me

ter and hurried on, lipperty-lipperty-lip, while Pr

even in sight. Old Mother Nature wasted no time. She has too much

wo little haymakers of the high mountains o

y, and Stubtail the Mountain Beaver or Sew

untains, though he is sometimes found in the latter. He is Grubby the Gopher, a member of the same order the rest of you belong to, but of a family quite his own.

is cheeks like mine?" aske

replied Old Mother Nature; "but they are not at all like yours, Striped Ch

exclaimed Str

ood and never for carrying out earth when he is digging a tunnel, as some folks think he does. He stuffs them full with his front feet and empties them by pressing them from the back with his feet. The Gopher family is quite large and the members range

d something on his mind. Now as Old Mother Nature paused, Peter found the chance he h

very stout and strong. They are armed with very long, strong claws and it is with these and the help of his big cutting teeth that Grubby digs. He throws the earth under him and then kicks it behind him with his hind feet. When he has quite a pile behind him he turns around, and with h

ak because he has little use for them, coming out on the surface very seldom and then usually in the dusk. He has a funny little tail without any hair on it; this is very sensitive and serves him as a sort of guide when he ru

f the plants may get it easily," explained Old Mother Nature. "By making those tunnels in every direction and bringing up the earth below to the surface, Grubby Gopher does the same t

farmer's best friends," sp

ee he eats the crops the farmer tries to raise, and the new mounds he is all the time throwing up bury a lot of the young plants, and in the meadows make it very hard to use a mowing machine for cutting hay. Then Grubby g

leep in winter as Johnny Chuck does. He even tunnels about under the snow. Sometimes he fills these little snow tunnels with

eave it open very long, for fear Shadow the Weasel or a certain big Snake called the Gopher Snake will find it and come in after him. Digger the Badger is the only one of his enemies who can dig fast enough to dig him out, but at night, when h

On the plains he has done a great deal to make the soil fine and rich, as I have already told you, but on hillsides he does a great deal of harm. The water runs down his tunnels and washes away the soil. Because of this and the damage he

Porky climbed up on an old stump, looking very peevish and mu