 Chapter 20. The Burgess Animal Book for Children This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Lucy Burgoyne. The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess. Chapter 20. Four Busy Little Miners, The Common Mole, Brewers or Hairy-tailed Mole, Oregon Mole and Starnow's Mole. Scampering along on his way to school and thinking of nothing so uninteresting as watching his steps, Peter Rabbit stubbed his toes. Yes, sir, Peter stubbed his toes. With a little exclamation of impatience, he turned to see what he had stumbled over. It was a little ridge where the surface of the ground had been raised a trifle since Peter had passed that way the day before. Peter chuckled. Now isn't that funny? He demanded of no one at all that he was quite alone. Then he answered himself. It certainly is, said he. Here I am on my way to learn something about minor the mole, and I trip over one of the queer little ridges he is forever making. It wasn't here yesterday, so that means that he is at work right around here now. Hello, I thought so. Peter had been looking along the little ridge, and had discovered that it ended only a short distance from him. Now, as he looked at it again, he saw the flat surface of the ground at the end of the ridge rise as he had been pushed up from beneath, and that little ridge became just so much longer. Peter understood perfectly. Out of sight beneath the surface, minor the mole was at work. He was digging a tunnel, and that ridge was simply the roof to that tunnel. It was so near the surface of the ground that minor simply pushed up the loose soil as he bored his way along, and this made the little ridge over which Peter had stumbled. Peter watched a few minutes, then turned and scampered. Liberty, liberty lip for the green forest. He arrived at school quite out of breath, the last one. Old Mother Nature was about to chide him for being late, but noticing his excitement, she changed her mind. Well, Peter said she. What is it now? Did you have a narrow escape on your way here? Peter shook his head. No, he replied. No, I didn't have a narrow escape, but I discovered something. Happy Jack Squirrel snickered. Peter is always discovering something, said he. He is a great little discoverer. Probably he has just found out that the only way to get anywhere on time is to start soon enough. No such thing, declared Peter indignantly. You, never mind him, Peter, interrupted Old Mother Nature soothingly. What was it you discovered? That the very one we are to learn about is only a little way from here this very minute. Minor the mole is at work on the green meadow, close to the edge of the green forest, cried Peter eagerly. I thought perhaps you would want to have this morning's lesson right there where we can at least see his works, if not himself. Interrupted Old Mother Nature again. That is fine, Peter. We will go over there at once. It is always better to see things than to merely hear about them. So Peter led the way to where he had stumbled over that little ridge on his way to school. It was longer than when he had left it, but even as the others crowded about to look, the earth was pushed up and it grew in length. Old Mother Nature stooped and made a little hole in that ridge. Then she put her lips close to it and commanded Minor to come out. She spoke softly, pleasantly, but in a way that left no doubt that she expected to be obeyed. She was, almost at once, a queer, long, sharp nose was poked out at the little hole she had made. And the squeaky boys asked fretfully, Do I have to come way out? You certainly do, replied Old Mother Nature. I want some of your friends and neighbours to get a good look at you, and they certainly can't do that with only that sharp nose of yours to be seen. Now scramble out here. No one will hurt you. I will keep you only a few minutes. Then you can go back to your everlasting digging, out with you now. While the others gathered in a little circle close about that hole, they scrambled into view, one of the queerest little fellows in all the great world. Few of them had ever seen him close before. He was a stout little fellow with the softest, thickest grey coat imaginable. He was about six inches long and had a funny, short, pinkish white, naked tail that at once reminded Peter of an old angle worm. His head seemed to be set directly on his shoulders so that there was no neck worth mentioning. His nose was long and sharp and extended far beyond his mouth. Neither ears nor eyes were to be seen. Striped chipmunk at once wanted to know how Miner could see. He doesn't see as you do, replied Old Mother Nature. He has very small eyes, tiny things, which you might find if you should part the fur around them, but they are of use only to distinguish light from darkness. Miner hasn't the least idea what any of you look like. You see, he spends his life underground and of course has no use for eyes there. They would be a nuisance for the dirt would be continually getting in them if they were any larger than they are or were not protected as they are. If you should feel of Miner's nose you would find it hard, that is because he uses it to bore with it in the earth. Just notice those hands of his. At once everybody looked at Miner's hands. No one ever had seen such hands before. The arms were short but looked very strong. The hands also were rather short but what they lacked in length they made up in width and they were armed with long, stout claws. But the queer thing about them was the way he held them. He held them turned out. His hind feet were not much different from the hind feet at the mouse family. Miner was plainly uncomfortable. He wriggled about uneasily and it was very clear that he was there only because Old Mother Nature had commanded him to be there and that the one thing he wanted most was to get back into his beloved ground. Old Mother Nature saw this and took pity on him. She picked him up and placed him on the ground where there was no opening near. Now Miner said she, your friends and neighbours have had a good look at you and I know just how uncomfortable you feel. There is but one thing more I'll ask of you. It is that you will show us how you can dig. Johnny Chuck thinks he is a pretty good digger. Just show him what you can do in that line. Miner didn't wait to be told twice. The instant Old Mother Nature stopped speaking. He began to push and bore into the earth with his sharp nose. One of those great spade-like hands was slipped up past his face and the claws driven in beside his nose. Then it was swept back and the loosened earth with it. The other hand was used in the same way. It was quite plain to everybody why they were turned out in the way they were. There was nothing slow about the way Miner used that boring nose and those shoveling hands. Peter Rabbit had hardly time for half a dozen long breaths before Miner the Mole had disappeared. Some digging exclaimed Peter. Never again as long as I live will I boast of my digging, declared Johnny Chuck admiringly. From the point where Miner had entered the ground a little ridge was being pushed up and they watched it grow surprisingly fast as the little worker under the sod pushed his tunnel along in the direction of his old tunnels. It was clear that he was in a hurry to get back where he could work in peace. What a queer life exclaimed happy Jack Squirrel. He can't have much fun. I should think it would be awful living in the dark that way all the time. You forget that he cannot see as you can and so prefers the dark, replied Old Mother Nature. For fun he gets that in his work. He is called Miner because he lives in the ground and is always tunneling. What does he eat? The roots of plants? Asked Jumper the hare. Old Mother Nature shook her head. A lot of people think that, said she, and often Miner is charged with destroying growing crops, eating seed corn, etc. That is because his tunnels are found running along the rows of plants. The fact is, Miner has simply been hunting for grubs and worms around the roots of those plants. He hasn't touched the plants at all. I suspect that Danny Meadow Mouse, or one of his cousins, could explain who ate the seed corn and the young plants. They are rather fond of using Miner's tunnels when he isn't about. Danny hung his head and looked guilty, but didn't say anything. The only harm Miner does is sometimes to tunnels so close to garden plants that he lets air in around the tender roots and they dry out. Continued Old Mother Nature. His food consists almost wholly of worms, grubs and insects, and he has to have a great many to keep him alive. That is why he is so active. Those tunnels of his, which seem to be without any plan, are made in his search for food. He is especially fond of angle worms. As a matter of fact, he is a useful little fellow. The only time he becomes a nuisance to man is when he makes his little ridges across smooth lawns. Even then he pays for the trouble by destroying the grubs in the grass roots, grubs that in their turn would destroy the grass. When you see his ridges, you may know that his food is close to the surface. When in dry or cold weather, the worms go deep in the ground. Miner follows and then there is no trace of his tunnels on the surface. Night and day are all the same to him. He works and sleeps when he chooses. In winter he tunnels below the frost line. You all noticed how dense his fur is. That is so the sand cannot work down in it. His home is a snug nest of grass or leaves in a little chamber under the ground in which several tunnels offer easy means of escape in case of sudden danger. Has minor any near relatives? asked Peter Rabbit. Several replied of mother nature, all are much alike in the habits. One who lives a little farther north is called Brewer's Mole or the Hairy Tail Mole. His tail is a little longer than mine is and is covered with fine hair. The largest and handsomest member of the family is the Oregon Mole of the north west. His coat is very dark and his fur extremely fine. His ways are much the same as those of miner whom you have just met. Accepting that when he is tunneling deep in the ground he pushes the earth to the surface after the manner of grubby gopher. And his mounds become a nuisance to farmers. When he is tunneling just under the surface he makes ridges exactly like these of his eastern cousin. But the oddest member of the Mole family is the Star knows Mole. He looks much like miner with the exception of his nose and tail. His nose has a fringe of little fleshy points, 22 of them, like a many pointed star. From this he gets his name. His tail is a little longer than miner's and his hearing. During the late fall and winter this becomes much enlarged. This funny little fellow with the star like nose is especially fond of moist places, swamps, damp meadows and the banks of streams. He is not at all afraid of the water and is a good swimmer. Sometimes he may be seen swimming under the ice in winter. He is seldom found where the earth is dry. For that matter none of the family are found in those sections where there are long, dry periods and the earth becomes baked and hard. The fur of miner and his cousins will lay in either direction which keeps it smooth no matter whether the wearer is going forward or backward. Otherwise it would be badly mused up most of the time. All together these little underground workers are most interesting little people when you know them but that is something few people have a chance to do. Now just remember that the shrews and the moles belong to the order of insectivora, meaning eaters of insects and are the only two families in that order and don't despise either of them for they do a great deal of good in the great world. More than some right here whom I might name, but will not. School is dismissed. In the dusk of early evening, as Peter Rabbit sat trying to make up his mind whether to spend that night at home in the dear old briar patch with timid little Mrs. Peter or go over to the green forest in search of adventure, a very fine, squeaky voice which came right out of the air above him startled him and said, Hello, Flitter, exclaimed Peter, as he stared up at a little dark form darting this way, twisting that way, now up, now down, almost brushing Peter's head and then flying so high he could hardly be seen. Why should I stay at home? Because if I stay at home, I'll be in trouble. I'll be in trouble. I'll be in trouble. I'll be in trouble. I'll be in trouble. I'll be in trouble. Why should I stay at home? Because I saw old man Coyote sneaking along the edge of the green forest, Reddy Fox is hunting on the green meadows, and Hooty the Owl is on watch and the old orchard, replied Flitter, the red bat. Of course it is no business of mine what you do, Peter Rabbit, but were I in your place I certainly would stay at home. Gracious, I'm glad I can go where I please when I please. You ought to fly, Peter. You ought to fly. There is nothing like it. I wish I could, sighed Peter. Well, don't say I didn't warn you, squeaked Flitter, and darted away in the direction of Farmer Brown's house. Peter wisely decided that the dear old briar patch was the best place for him that night, so he remained at home to the joy of timid little Mrs. Peter, and spent the night eating, dozing, and wondering how it seemed to be able to fly like Flitter the bat. Flitter was still in his mind when he started for school the next morning, and by the time he got there he was bubbling over with curiosity and questions. He could hardly wait for school to be called to order. Old Mother Nature noticed how fidgety he was. What have you on your mind, Peter? she asked. Didn't you tell us that the shrew family and the mole family are the only families in this country in the order of insect-eaters? asked Peter. I certainly did, was the prompt reply. Doesn't Flitter the bat live on insects? asked Peter. Old Mother Nature nodded. He does, said she. In fact, he lives altogether on insects. Then why isn't he a member of that order? demanded Peter. Old Mother Nature smiled, for she was pleased that Peter had thought of this. That question does you credit, Peter? said she. The reason that he and his relatives are so very different from other animals that they have been placed in an order of their own. It is called the Chiraptura, which means wing-handed. How many of you know Flitter the bat? I have often seen him declare Jumper the hare. So have I, said Chatterer the red squirrel. Each of the others said the same thing. There wasn't one who hadn't watched an envied Flitter darting about in the air just at dusk of early evening or as the black shadows were stealing away in the early morning. Old Mother Nature smiled. Seeing him isn't knowing him, said she. Who is there who knows anything about him and his ways save that he flies at night and catches insects in the air? She waited a minute or two, but no one spoke. The fact is there was not one who really knew anything about Flitter. It is one of the strange things of life, said she, that people often know nothing about the neighbours whom they see every day. But in this case it is not to be wondered at. I suspect none of you has seen Flitter, accepting in the air, and then he moves so rapidly that there is no chance to get a good look at him. I think this is just the time and place for you to really make the acquaintance of Flitter the red bat. She stepped over to a bush and parted the leaves. Hanging from a twig was what appeared at first glance to be a rumpled, reddish-brown dead leaf. She touched it lightly. At once it came to life, stirring uneasily. A thin, squeaky voice, peevishly demanded to know what was wanted. You have some collars, a few of your friends who want to get really acquainted with you. Suppose you wake up for a few minutes, explained Old Mother Nature pleasantly. Flitter, for that is just who it was, yawned once or twice sleepily, shook himself, then grinned down at the wandering faces of his friends, crowded about just under him. Hello, folks! said he, in that thin, squeaky voice of his. The sunlight fell full on him, but he seemed not to mind it in the least. In fact, he appeared to enjoy its warmth. He was hanging by his toes, head down, his wings folded. He was about four inches long, and his body was much like that of a mouse. His fur was fine and thick, a beautiful orange-red. For his size his ears were large. Instead of the long head and sharp nose of the mouse-family, Flitter had a rather round head and blunt nose. Almost at once Peter Rabbit made a discovery. It was that Flitter possessed a pair of bright, little, snapping eyes that didn't seem in the least bothered by the bright light. Where did that saying, blind as a bat, ever come from, demanded Peter? Old Mother Nature laughed. Goodness knows I don't," said she. There is nothing blind about Flitter. He sleeps through the day and does his hunting in the dusk of evening or early morning. But if he is disturbed and has to fly during the day, he has no trouble in seeing. Flitter, stretch out one of your wings so that everybody can see it. Obediently, Flitter stretched out one of his wings. Everybody gasped, for it was the first time any of them ever had seen one of those wings near enough to know just what it was like. Flitter's arm was long, especially from his elbow to his hand. But the surprising thing was the length of his three fingers. Each finger appeared to be about as long as the whole arm. From his shoulder a thin, rubbery skin was stretched to the ends of the long fingers, then across to the ankle of his hind foot on that side, and from there across to the tip of his tail. A little short thumb with a long curved claw stuck up free from the edge of the wing. Now you can see just why he is called wing-handed, explained Old Mother Nature, as Flitter folded the wing. In a minute he began to clean it. Everybody laughed, for it was funny to watch him. He would take the skin of the wing in his mouth and pull and stretch it as if it were rubber. He washed it with his tiny tongue, then he washed his fur. You see, Flitter is very neat. With the little claw of his thumb he scratched his head and combed his hair. All the time he remained hanging, head down, clinging to the twig with his toes. Where is Mrs. Flitter, asked Old Mother Nature? Don't know, replied Flitter, beginning on the other wing. She is quite equal to looking after herself, so I don't worry about her. Nor about your babies, Flitter, I'm ashamed of you. You are a poor kind of father, declared Old Mother Nature severely. If you don't know where to find your family, I'll show you. She stepped over to the very next tree, parted the leaves, and there, sure enough, hung Mrs. Flitter fast asleep, and clinging to her were three of the funniest babies in all the great world. All were asleep, and Old Mother Nature didn't awaken them. For as Flitter he seemed to take not the slightest interest in his family, but went right on with his toilet. Flitter, the red bat, is one of the best known of the whole family in this country, said Old Mother Nature, as they left Flitter to resume his nap. He is found from the east to the far west, from ocean to ocean. Like the birds, he migrates when cold weather comes, returning in the early summer. Although, like all bats, he sleeps all day as a rule, he doesn't mind the sunlight, as you have just seen for yourselves. Sometimes on dull, dark days he doesn't wait for evening, but flies in the afternoon. Usually he is the first of the bat family to appear in the evening, often coming out while it is still light enough to show the color of his red coat. No other member of his family has a coat of this color. Some people call him the tree bat. After seeing him hanging over there, I think you can guess why. He rarely goes to a cave for his daytime sleep, as most of his relatives do, but hangs by his toes from a twig of a tree or bush, frequently not far from the ground, just as he is right now. As all of you who have watched him know, Flitter is a swift flier. This is because his wings are long and narrow. They are made for speed. I want you to know that the bats are the most wonderful of all my little people. Few, if any, birds can equal them in the air because of their wonderful ability to twist and turn. They are masters of the art of flying. Moreover, they make no sound with their wings, something which only the owls among birds can boast of. You all saw the three babies clinging to Mrs. Flitter. Most bats have but two babies at a time, occasionally only one, but the red bat and his larger cousin, have three or four. Mrs. Flitter carries her babies about with her until they are quite big. When they are too large to be carried, she leaves them hanging in a tree while she hunts for her meals. Flitter has many cousins. One of these is the little brown bat, one of the smallest members of the family and found all over the country. He is brown all over. He is sometimes called the cave bat because whenever a cave is to be found, he sleeps there. His great numbers of these little bats are found crowded together in a big cave. When there is no cave handy, a barn or hollow tree is used. Often he will creep behind the closed blinds of a house to spend the day. Very like this little fellow in colour, is his cousin the big brown bat, called the house bat, and the Carolina bat. He is especially fond of the homes of men. He is a little bigger than the red bat. While the latter is one of the first bats to appear in the evening, the former is one of the last, coming out only when it is quite dark. He also is found all over the country. The silvery bat is of nearly the same size and in many places is more common than any of its cousins. The fur is dark brown or black with white tips, especially in the young. From this it gets its name. One of the largest and handsomest of the bat cousins, and one of the rarest, his fur is a mixture of dark and light brown, tipped with white. He is very handsom. His wings are very long and narrow, and he is one of the most wonderful of all fliers. He is a lover of the green forest and does his hunting high above the treetops, making his appearance late in the evening. Like the red bat he spends the hours of daylight hanging in a tree. Down in the southeast is a member of the family with ears so big that he is called a bat. He is a little chap, smaller than little brown bat, and his ears are half as long as his head and body together. What do you think of that? For his size he has the biggest ears of any animal in all this great country. A relative in the southwest is the big-eared bat. All members of the bat family are drinkers and usually the first thing they do when they start out at dusk is to seek water. All live wholly on insects and for this reason they are the very best friends of man. They eat great numbers of mosquitoes. They do no harm whatever which is more than can be said for some of the rest of you little folks. Now who shall we learn about next? End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 of the Burgess Animal Book for Children This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Janet Friday The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess Chapter 22 An Independent Family The Common Skunk Hog Nosed or Badger Skunk and Little Spotted Skunk Just as Old Mother Nature asked who they should learn about next Happy Jack Squirrel spied someone coming down the lone little path. See who's coming! cried Happy Jack. Everybody turned to look down the lone little path. There ambling along in the most matter of fact and unconcerned way imaginable came a certain small person who was dressed wholly in black and white. Hello Jimmy Skunk! cried Chatterer the red squirrel. What are you doing over here in the green forest? Jimmy Skunk looked up and grinned. It was a slow good-natured grin. Hello everybody! said he. I thought would just amble over here and see your school. I suppose all you fellows are getting so wise that pretty soon you will think you know all there is to know. Have any of you seen any fat beetles around here? Just then Jimmy noticed Old Mother Nature and hastened to bow his head in a funny way. Please excuse me Mother Nature he said. I thought school was over. I don't want to interrupt. Old Mother Nature smiled. The fact is Old Mother Nature is rather fond of Jimmy Skunk. You aren't interrupting said she. It is. We had just ended the lesson about Flitter the Bat and his relatives and we're trying to decide who to study about next. I think you came along at just the right time. You belong to a large and rather important order one that all these little folks here ought to know about. How many cousins have you Jimmy? Jimmy Skunk looked a little surprised at the question. He scratched his head thoughtfully. Let me see said he. I have several close cousins in the Skunk branch of the family but I presume you want to know who my cousins are outside of the Skunk branch. They are Shadow the Weasel and Lily Mink and Little Joe Otter. These are the only ones I can think of now. How about Digger the Badger asked Old Mother Nature a look of surprise swept over Jimmy Skunk's face. Digger the Badger he exclaimed Digger the Badger is no cousin of mine. Tut, tut, tut Old Mother Nature Tut, tut, tut Jimmy Skunk it is high time you came to school. Digger the Badger is just as much a cousin of yours as is Shadow the Weasel. You are members of the same order and it is a rather large order. It is called the Carnivora which means flesh eating. You are a member of the Martin or Weasel family and that family is called the Mustellid Day. Digger the Badger is also a member of that family. That means that you too are cousins. You and Digger and Glutton the Wolverine belong to the stout-bodied branch of the family. Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Shadow the Weasel Pecan the Fisher and spite the Martin belong to its slim-bodied branch but all are members of the same family despite the difference in looks and thus of course are cousins. Seeing that you are here Jimmy I think we will find out just how much these little folks know about you. Peter Rabbit, tell us what you know about Jimmy Skunk. I know one thing about him declared Peter and that's that he is the most independent fellow in the world. He isn't afraid of anybody. I saw Buster Bear actually step out of his way the other day. Jimmy Skunk grinned Buster always treats me very politely said Jimmy. I have noticed that everybody does. Even Farmer Brown's boy spoke up Happy Jack Squirrel it is easy enough to be independent when everybody is afraid of you Sputtered Chatterer the Red Squirrel just why is everybody afraid of Jimmy Skunk asked Old Mother Nature they are afraid of that little scent gun he carries spoke up Peter Rabbit I wish I had one just like it. Old Mother Nature shook her head it wouldn't do Peter to trust you with a gun like Jimmy Skunks said she you are all together too heedless and careless if you had a scent gun like Jimmy's I am afraid there would be trouble in the green forest and on the green meadow all the time I suspect that you would drive everybody else away Jimmy is never heedless or careless he never uses that little scent gun unless he is in real danger or thinks he is usually he is pretty sure that he is before he uses it I am sure to say that not one of you has seen Jimmy use that little scent gun Peter looked at Jumper the Hare Jumper looked at Chatterer Chatterer looked at Happy Jack Happy Jack looked at Danny Meadowmouse Danny looked at Striped Chipmunk Striped looked at Johnny Chuck Johnny looked at Whitefoot the Woodmouse and then all looked at Old Mother Nature and shook their heads I thought as much said she Jimmy is wonderfully well armed but for defense only he never makes the mistake of misusing that little scent gun but everybody knows he has it so nobody interferes with him now Peter what more do you know about Jimmy he's lazy replied Peter I'm not lazy retorted Jimmy's skunk I'm no more lazy than you are you call me lazy just because I don't hurry I don't have to hurry and I never can see hurrying when one doesn't have to that will do Interposed Old Mother Nature go on Peter with what you know about Jimmy he is good-natured said Peter and grinned at Jimmy Jimmy grinned back thank you Peter said he he is one of the best continued Peter I guess it is a lucky thing for the rest of us that he is I have noticed that fat people are usually good-natured and Jimmy is nearly always fat in fact I don't think I have seen him what you would call really thin accepting very early in the spring he eats beetles and grubs and grasshoppers and crickets and insects of all sorts I am told that he steals eggs when he can find them yes and he catches members of my family when he can spoke up Danny Meadow Mouse I never feel safe with Jimmy skunk very near Jimmy didn't look at all put out I might as well confess tender mouse is rather to my liking said he and I might add that I also enjoy a frog now and then or a lizard or a fish also you might mention that young birds don't comma miss when you can get them spoke up Chatterer the red squirrel maliciously Jimmy looked up at Chatterer it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black said he and Chatterer made a face at him but Chatterer said nothing more for he knew that all the others knew that what Jimmy said was true Chatterer had robbed many a nest of young birds is that all you know about Jimmy asked old mother nature of Peter I guess it is Peter accepting that he lives in a hole in the ground and I seldom see him out in winter I rather think he sleeps all winter the same as Johnny Chuck does you've got another think coming Peter said Jimmy I sleep a lot during the winter but I don't go into winter quarters until well after snow comes I don't sleep the way Johnny Chuck does sometimes I go out in winter and hunt around a little do you dig your house ask old mother nature Jimmy shook his head not when I can help myself said he it is too much work if I have to I do but I would much rather use one of Johnny Chuck's houses his houses suit me first rate I want you all to look at Jimmy very closely said old mother nature you will notice that he is about the size of black pussy the cat from Farmer Browns and that his coat is black with broad white stripes but not all skunks are marked alike I dare say no two of Jimmy's children would be exactly alike I suspect that one or more might be all black with perhaps a little bit of white on the tail notice that Jimmy's front feet have long sharp claws he uses these to dig out grubs and insects in the ground and for pulling over sticks and stones in his search for beetles also notice that he places his feet on the ground very much as does Buster Bear that big bushy tail of his is for the purpose of warning folks Jimmy never shoots that little sent gun without first giving warning when that tail of his begins to go up in the air wise people watch out a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that Jimmy skunk and his family do a great deal of harm the truth is they do a great deal of good to man once in a while they will make the mistake of stealing chickens or eggs but it is only once in a while they make up for all what they take in this way by the pests they destroy Jimmy and Mrs. Skunk have a large family each year usually from six to ten Mrs. Skunk usually is living by herself when the babies are born but when they are big enough to walk their father rejoins the family and you may see them in a pleasant evening starting out together to hunt for grasshoppers beetles and other things often the whole family remains together the whole winter not breaking up until spring Jimmy is one of the neatest of all my little people and takes the best care of his handsome coat he isn't afraid of water but of him if it is necessary he does most of his hunting at night sleeping during the day he is one of the few little wild people who haven't been driven away by man and often makes his home close to man's home Jimmy has cousins in nearly all parts of this great country way down in the southwest is one called the hog-nosed skunk one of the largest of the family he gets his name because of the shape of his nose and the fact that he roots in the ground the same as a hog he is also called the badger skunk because of the big claws on his front feet and the fact that he is a great digger his fur is not so fine as a big big skunk but is rather coarse and harsh he is even more of an insect eater than his Jimmy the smallest of Jimmy's own cousins is the little spotted skunk he is only about half as big as Jimmy and his coat instead of being striped with white like Jimmy's is covered with leaves and spots making it appear very handsome he lives in the southern half of the country and in habits is much like Jimmy but he is much livelier occasionally he climbs low trees like Jimmy he eats almost anything he can find and it goes without saying that like Jimmy a little scent gun by the way Jimmy what do you do when you are angry show us Jimmy began to growl a queer sounding little growl and at the same time to stamp the ground with his front feet old mother nature laughed when you see Jimmy do that said she it is best to pretend don't see him and keep out of his way hasn't Jimmy any enemies at all asked Peter Rabbit that depends on how hungry some folks get replied old mother nature hoodie the owl doesn't seem to mind Jimmy's little scent gun but this is the only one I can think of who doesn't some of the bigger animals might take him if they were starving but even then I think they would think twice who knows where Digger the Badger is living I do replied Peter Rabbit he is living out on the green meadows over near the old pasture all right Peter replied old mother nature suppose you run over and pay him a visit and tomorrow morning tell us about it End of Chapter 22 Recording by Janet Friday Chapter 23 of the Burgess Animal Book for Children this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Burgess Animal Book for Children of the Burgess Chapter 23 Digger and his cousin Glutton the Badger and Wolverine or Caracajou well Peter said old mother nature did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday yes I'm replied Peter I visited him but I didn't find out much he's a regular old grouch he isn't the least bit neighborly ever knew and I couldn't tell which one is his home when I did find him he gave me a terrible scare I didn't see him until I was right on top of him and if I hadn't jumped and quickly I guess I wouldn't be here this morning he was lying flat down in the grass and he was so very flat that I just didn't see him when I told him that I wanted to know all about him and his ways he replied that it was none of my business how he lived or what he did and that was all I could get out of him I sat around a while and watched him but he didn't do much except take a sun bath he certainly is a queer looking fellow to be a member of the Weasel family there's nothing about him that looks like a Weasel that I could see of course he isn't as broad as he is long but he looks almost that when he is lying flat down and that long hair of his is spread out on both sides he really has a handsome coat when you come to look at it it is silvery grey and silky looking it seems to be parted right down the middle of his back his tail is rather short but stout and hairy his head and face are really handsome his cheeks, chin and a broad stripe from his nose right straight back over his head are white on each cheek is a bar of black the back part of his ear is black and so are his feet he has rather a sharp nose somehow when he is walking he makes me think of a little flattened out bear with very short legs and such claws as he has on his front feet I don't know anyone with such big strong claws for his size I guess that must be because he is such a digger that's a very good guest Peter said old mother nature has anyone here ever seen him dig I did once, replied Peter I happened to be over near where he lives when farmer Brown's boy came along and surprised digger some distance from one of his holes digger didn't try to get into one of those holes he simply began to dig my gracious how the sand did fly he was at a site in the ground before farmer Brown's boy could get to him Johnny Chuck is pretty good at digging but he simply isn't in the same class with digger the badger no one is that I know of unless it's minor them all I guess this is all I know about him accepting that he is a great fighter once I saw him whip a dog almost twice his size I never heard such hissing and snarling and growling he wouldn't tell me anything about how he lives very good Peter very good replied old mother nature that's as much as I expected you would be able to find out digger is a queer fellow his home is on the great plains and in the flat open country of the middle west and far west where gophers and ground squirrels and prairie dogs live they furnish him with the greater part of his food all of them are good diggers but they don't stand any chance when he sets out to dig them out digger spends most of his time underground during daylight seldom coming out except for a sun bath but as soon as jolly round red Mr. Sun goes to bed for the night digger appears and travels about in search of a dinner his legs are so short and he is so stout and heavy that he is slow and rather clumsy but he makes up for that by his ability to dig he doesn't expect to catch anyone on the surface unless he happens to surprise a meadow-mouse within jumping distance he goes hunting for the holes of the ground squirrels and other burrowers and when he finds one promptly digs he eats grasshoppers beetles and small snakes as well as such small animals as he catches it was well for you Peter that you jumped when you did for I suspect that digger would have enjoyed a rabbit dinner very little is known of digger's family life but he is a good husband in winter he sleeps as johnny chuck does coming out soon after the snow disappears in the spring of all my little people none has greater courage when he is cornered he will fight as long as there is a breath of life in him his skin is very tough and he is further protected by his long hair his teeth are sharp and strong and he can always give a good account of himself in a fight he is afraid of no one of his own size man hunts for him for his fur but man is very stupid in many things this is an example you see digger is worth a great deal more alive than dead because of the great number of destructive rodents he kills the only thing that can be brought against him is the number of holes he digs mister and mrs. digger have two to five babies late in the spring or early in the summer they are born underground in a nest of grass as you may guess just by looking at digger he is very strong if he once gets well into the ground a strong man pulling on his tail cannot budge him as peter has pointed out he isn't at all sociable mister and mrs. digger are quite satisfied to live by themselves and be left alone so he is rarely seen in daytime but probably is out oftener than is supposed peter has told how he nearly stepped on digger before seeing him it is digger's wise habit to lie perfectly still until he is sure he has been seen so people often pass him without seeing him at all or if they see him they take him for a stone while digger the badger is a lover of the open country and doesn't like the green forest at all he is a cousin who is found only in the green forest and usually very deep in the green forest at that this is glutton the wolverine the largest and ugliest member of the family none of you have seen him because he lives almost wholly in the great forests of the north he hasn't a single friend that I know of but that doesn't trouble him in the least glutton has several names he is called kerakuju in the far north and out on the far west is often called skunk bear the latter name probably is given him because in shape and color he looks a great deal as though he might be half skunk and half bear he is about three feet long with a tail six inches long and is thick set and heavy his legs are short and very stout his hair including that on the tail is long and shaggy it is blackish brown becoming grayish on the upper part of his head and cheeks his feet are black when he walks he puts his feet flat on the ground as a bear does being so short of leg and heavy of body he is slow in his movements but what he lacks in this respect he makes up in strength and cunning you think ready fox and old man coyote are smart but neither begins to be as smart as glutton the wolverine he is a great traveller and in the far north where the greater part of the fur of the world is trapped he is a pest to the trappers he will follow a trapper all day long keeping just out of sight no matter how carefully a trapper hides the trap glutton will find it and steal the bait without getting caught sometimes he even tears up the traps and takes them off and hides them in the woods if he comes on a trap in which some other animal has been caught he will eat the animal his strength is so great that often he will tear his way into the cabins of hunters while they are absent and eat or destroy all their food his appetite is tremendous and it is because of this that he is called glutton what he cannot eat or take away he covers with filth so that no other animal will touch it he is of ugly disposition and is hated alike by the animals and by man his fur is of considerable value but he is hunted more for the purpose of getting rid of him than for his fur sometimes when caught in a trap he will pick it up and carry it for miles Mrs. glutton has two or three babies in the spring they live in a cave but if a cave cannot be found they use a hole in the ground which Mrs. glutton digs it is usually well hidden and seldom has been found by man glutton will eat any kind of flesh and seems not to care especially killed or so old that it is decayed the only way that hunters can protect their supplies is by covering them with great logs even then the glutton will often tear the logs apart to get at the supplies because of his great cunning the Indians think he is possessed of an evil spirit I think this will do for today tomorrow we will take up another branch of the family some members of which all of you know I wonder if it wouldn't be a good plan to have shadowed the weasel here such a look of dismay has swept over the faces of all those little people with the exception of Jimmy Skunk and Prickly Porky if you please I don't think I'll come to more morning said Danny Meadow Mouse I think I shall be too busy at home and will have to miss that lesson old muck old mother nature smiled don't worry little folk said she you ought to know that if I had shadow here I wouldn't let him hurt one of you but I am afraid if he were here you would pay no attention to me so I promise you that shadow will not be anywhere near end of chapter 23 the Burgess animal book for children by Thornton W. Burgess chapter 24 shadow and his family the common or bone-apart weasel or ermine New York weasel, long-tailed or yellow-bellied weasel leased weasel, and black-footed ferret every one was on hand he was on hand he was on hand he was on hand every one was on hand when school opened the next morning despite the fear that the mere mention of shadow the weasel had aroused in all save Jimmy Skunk and Prickly Porky you see all felt they must be there so that they might learn all they possibly could about one they so feared it might help them to escape should they discover shadow hunting them sometime striped chipmunk said Old Mother Nature you know something about shadow the weasel tell us what you know I know I hate him declared striped chipmunk and all the others nodded their heads in agreement I don't know a single good thing about him he continued but I know plenty of bad things he is the one enemy I fear more than any other because he is the one who can go wherever I can any hole I can get into he can I've seen him just twice in my life and I hope I may never see him again what did he look like asked Old Mother Nature like a snake on legs declared striped chipmunk that is what he made me think of because his body was so long and slim and he twisted and turned so easily he was about as long as chatterer the red squirrel but looked longer because of his slim body and long neck he was brown above and white below his front feet were white and his hind feet rather whiteish but not clear white his short round tail was black at the end somehow his small head and sharp face made me think of a snake I don't like to think about him I saw him once and he wasn't brown at all striped chipmunk is all wrong accepting about the end of his tail interrupted jumper the hair he was all white every bit of him but the end of his tail that was black striped chipmunk is quite right and so are you declared Old Mother Nature striped chipmunk saw him in summer and you saw him in winter he changes his coat according to season just as you do yourself jumper in winter he is trapped for his fur and he isn't called weasel at all but ermine oh said jumper and looked as if he felt a wee bit foolish what was he doing when you saw him asked Old Mother Nature turning to striped chipmunk hunting replied striped chipmunk as he shivered he was hunting me he had found my tracks where I had been gathering beach nuts following them with his nose just the way Bowser the hound follows Reddy Fox I nearly died of fright when I saw him you are lucky to be alive declared chatterer the red squirrel I know it replied striped chipmunk and shivered again I know it I guess I wouldn't be if Reddy Fox hadn't happened along just then and frightened Shadow away I've had a kindlier feeling for Reddy Fox ever since I never ran harder in my life than the time I saw him spoke up jumper the hare he was hunting me just the same way running with his nose in the snow and following every twist and turn I had made but for that black tipped tail I wouldn't have seen him until too late poo exclaimed Jimmy Skunk the idea of a big fellow like you running from such a little fellow as my cousin Shadow I'm not ashamed of running declared jumper I may be ever so much bigger but he is so quick I wouldn't stand the least chance in the world I suspect Shadow is about I go somewhere else the farther the better if I could climb a tree like chatterer it would be different no it wouldn't interrupted chatterer that fellow can climb almost as well as I can the only thing that saved me from him once was the fact that I could make a long jump from one tree to another he couldn't he had found a hole in a certain tree where I was living and it was just luck that I wasn't at home when he called I was just returning when he popped out I ran for my life he is the most awful fellow in all the great world declared whitefoot the wood mouse Jimmy Skunk chuckled right out what you know about the great world he said why you are farther from home now than you've ever been in your life before yet I could walk it in a few minutes how do you know Shadow is the most awful fellow in the great world I just know that's all retorted whitefoot in a very positive though sneaky voice he hunts and kills just for the love of it and no one no matter how big he is can do anything more awful than that I have a lot of enemies sometimes it seems as if almost every one of my neighbors is looking for a mouse dinner but all but Shadow the weasel hunt me when they are hungry and need food I can forgive them for that everyone must eat to live but Shadow hunts me even when his stomach is so full he cannot eat another mouthful that fellow just loves to kill he takes pleasure in it that is what makes him so awful whitefoot is right declared old mother nature and she spoke sadly if Shadow was as big as Buster Bear or Puma the Panther or even Tufti the Lynx he would be the most terrible creature in all the great world because of this awful desire to kill which fills him he is hot blooded quick tempered and fearless even when cornered by an enemy against whom he has no chance he will fight to the last gasp I am sorry to say there is no kindness nor gentleness in him towards any save his own family outside of that he hasn't a friend in the world not one hasn't he any enemies asked Peter Rabbit oh yes replied old mother nature ready Fox old man coyote hoody the owl and various members of the hawk family have to be watched for by him but they do not worry him much you see he moves so quickly dodging out of sight in a flash that whoever catches him must be quick indeed then too he is almost always close to danger he delights in old stone walls stone piles brush-grown fences piles of rubbish and barns and old buildings the places that mice delight in in such places there is always a hole to dart into in time of danger he hunts whenever he feels like it be it day or night and often covers considerable ground with his big brown water loving cousin Billy Mink it is because of his wonderful ability to disappear in an instant that he is called shadow shadow is known as the common weasel short-tailed weasel brown weasel bonaparte weasel and ermine and is found all over the forested parts of the northern part of the country a little farther south in the east is a cousin very much like him called the new york weasel on the great plains of the west is a larger cousin with a longer tail called the long-tailed weasel large ermine or yellow bellied weasel his smallest cousin is the least weasel the latter is not much longer than a mouse in winter he is all white even the tip of his tail in summer he is a purer white underneath than his larger cousins all of the weasels are like in habits when running they bound over the ground much as peter rabbit does in that part of the west where yap yap the prairie dog lives is a relative called the black-footed ferret who looks like a large weasel he is about the size of Billy Mink but instead of the rich dark brown of Billy's coat his coat is a creamy yellow his feet are black and so is the tip of his tail his face is whitish with a dark band across the eyes he is most frequently found in prairie dog towns and lives largely on yap yap and his friends his ways are those of shadow and his cousins there is no one yap yap fears quite as much the one good thing shadow the weasel does is to kill robber the rat whenever they meet robber as you know is big and savage and always ready for a fight when cornered but all the fight goes out of him when shadow appears perhaps it is because he knows how hopeless it is when shadow finds a barn overrun with rats he will sometimes stay until he has killed or driven out the last one then perhaps he spoils it all by killing a dozen chickens in a night it is a sad thing not to be able to speak well of anyone but shadow the weasel like robber the rat has by his ways made himself hated by all the little people of the green forest and the green meadows and by man to say a good word for him now tomorrow we will meet on the bank of the smiling pool instead of here end of chapter 24 recording by Janet friday chapter 25 of the Burgess animal book for children this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer LibriVox.org recording by Leanne Howlett the Burgess animal book for children by Thornton W. Burgess chapter 25 two famous swimmers Billy Mink and little joe Otter the bank of the smiling pool was a lovely place to hold school at that hour of the day which you know was just after sunup everybody who could get there was on hand and there were several who had not been to school before one of these was grandfather frog who was sitting on his big green lily pad another was gerry muskrat whose house was out in the smiling pool spotty the turtle was also there not to mention long legs the heron you see they hadn't come to school but the school had come to them for that is where they live or spend most of their time good morning gerry muskrat said old mother nature pleasantly gerry's brown head appeared in the smiling pool have you seen anything of Billy Mink or little joe Otter little joe went down to the big river last night replied gerry muskrat I don't know when he is coming back but I wouldn't be surprised to see him any minute Billy Mink was here last evening and said he was going up the laughing brook fishing he is likely to be back any time one can never tell when that fellow will appear he comes and goes continually I don't believe he can keep still five minutes who is that can't keep still five minutes demanded a new voice and there was Billy Mink himself just climbing out on the big rock gerry was speaking of you replied old mother nature this will be a good chance for you to show him that he is mistaken I want you to stay here for a while and to stay right on the big rock I may want to ask you a few questions just then Billy Mink dived into the smiling pool and a second later his brown head popped out of the water and in his mouth was a fat fish he scrambled back on the big rock and looked at old mother nature a bit fearfully as he laid the fish down I I didn't mean to disobey he mumbled I saw that fish and dive for him before I thought I hope you will forgive me mother nature I won't do it again acting before thinking gets people into trouble sometimes replied old mother nature however I will forgive you this time the fact is you have just shown your friends here something go ahead and eat that fish and be ready to answer questions as Billy Mink sat there on the big rock everyone had a good look at him one glance would tell anyone that he was a cousin of shadow the weasel he was much larger than shadow but of the same general shape being long and slender his coat was a beautiful dark brown darkest on the back his chin was white his tail was round covered with fairly long hair which was so darkest to be almost black his face was like that of shadow the weasel his legs were rather short as he sat eating that fish his back was arched old mother nature waited until he had finished his feast now then Billy said she I want you to answer a few questions which do you like best night or day it doesn't make any particular difference to me replied Billy I just sleep when I feel like it whether it be night or day and then when I wake up I can hunt it all depends on how I feel when you go hunting what do you hunt asked old mother nature Billy grinned anything that promises a good meal said he I'm not very particular a fat mouse a tender young rabbit a chipmunk a frog tadpoles chickens eggs birds fish whatever happens to be easiest to get suits me I am rather fond of fish and that's one reason that I live along the laughing broken around the smiling pool but I like a change of fare and so often I go hunting in the green forest sometimes I go up to farmer browns for a chicken spring I hunt for nests of birds on the ground in winter if Peter rabbit should happen along here when I was hungry I might be tempted to sample Peter Billy snapped his bright eyes wickedly and Peter shivered if Jerry must grab or not my friend I'm afraid I might be tempted to sample him continued Billy Ming poo exclaimed Peter rabbit you wouldn't dare tackle Jerry must grab wouldn't I replied Billy just asked Jerry how he feels about it one look at Jerry's face showed everybody that Jerry big as he was was afraid of Billy mink how do you hunt when you are on land asked old mother nature the way every good hunter should hunt with eyes nose and ears replied Billy there may be folks with better ears than I've got but I don't know who they are I wouldn't swap noses with anybody as for my eyes well plenty good enough for me in other words you hunt very much as does your cousin shadow the weasel said old mother nature Billy nodded I suppose I do said he but there's one thing he does which I don't do and that's hunt just for the love of killing once in a while I may kill more than I can eat but I don't mean to I hunt for food while he hunts just for the love of killing you all saw how Billy catches fish said old mother nature now Billy I want you to swim over to the farther bank and show us how you run Billy obeyed he slipped into the water dived swam under water for a distance then swam with just his head out when he reached the bank he climbed out and started along it he went by a series of bounds his back arched sharply between each leap then he disappeared before their very eyes only to reappear as he had gone so quick were his movements that it was impossible for one of the little people watching to keep their eyes on him it seems sometimes as though he must have vanished into the air of course he didn't he was simply showing them his wonderful ability to take advantage of every little stick stone and bush Billy is a great traveler said old mother nature he really loves to travel up and down the laughing book even for long distances wherever there is plenty of driftwood and rubbish Billy is quiet at home being so slender he can slip under all kinds of places and into all sorts of holes quick as he is on land he is not so quick as his cousin shadow and good swimmer as he is he isn't so good as his bigger cousin little Joe Otter but being equally at home on land and in water he has an advantage over his cousins Billy is much hunted for his fur and being hunted so much has made him very keen-witted Mrs. Billy makes her home nest in a hole in the bank or under an old stump or under a pile of driftwood and you may be sure it is well hidden there the babies are born and they stay with their mother all summer incidentally Billy can climb readily Billy is found all over this great country of ours when he lives in the far north his fur is finer and thicker than when he lives in the south I wish little Joe Otter were here I hoped he would be here he comes now cried gerry muskrat I rather expected he would be back gerry pointed towards where the laughing brook left the smiling pool on its way to the big river a brown head was moving rapidly towards them there was no mistaking that head it could belong to no one but little Joe Otter straight on to the big rock he came and climbed up he was big being one of the largest members of his family three feet long but no one looking at him could mistake him for anyone but a member of the weasel family his legs were short very short for the length of his body his tail was fairly long and broad his coat was a rich brown all over a little lighter underneath than on the back what's going on here asked little Joe Otter his eyes bright with interest we're holding a session of school here today explained old mother nature and we were just hoping that you would appear hold up one of your feet and spread the toes little Joe little Joe Otter obeyed though there was a funny puzzled look on his face why ye exclaimed peter rabbit his toes are webbed like those of patty the beaver of course they're webbed said little Joe I never could swim the way I do if they weren't webbed can you swim better than patty the beaver asked peter I should say I can if I couldn't I guess I would go hungry most of the time replied little Joe why should you go hungry patty doesn't retorted peter patty doesn't live on fish replied little Joe I do and that's the difference I can catch a fish in a tail end race and that's going some you might show us how you can swim suggest that old mother nature little Joe slipped into the water the smiling pool was very still and the little people sitting on the bank could look right down and see nearly to the bottom they saw little Joe as he entered the water and then saw little more than a brown streak a second later his head popped out on the other side of the smiling pool you I'm glad I'm not a fish exclaimed peter and everybody laughed you may well be glad said old mother nature you wouldn't stand much chance with little Joe around like billy mink little Joe was a great traveler especially up and down the laughing brook and the big river sometimes he travels over land but he is so heavy and his legs are so short that traveling on land is slow work when he does cross from one stream or pond to another he always picks out the smoothest going sometimes in winter he travels quite a bit then when he comes to a smooth hill he slides down and on his stomach by the way little Joe haven't you a slippery slide somewhere around here little Joe nodded I've got one down the laughing brook where the bank is steep said he Mrs. Otter and I in our children slide every day what do you mean by a slippery slide asked happy jack squirrel who was sitting in the big hickory tree which grew on the bank of the smiling pool old mother nature smiled little Joe Otter and his family are quite as fond of play as any of my children said she they get a lot of fun out of life one of their ways of playing is to make a slippery slide where the bank is steep in the water deep in winter it is made of snow but in summer it is made of mud there they slide down splashing to the water then climb up the bank and do it all over again in winter they make their slippery slide where the water doesn't freeze and they get just as much fun in winter as they do in summer I suppose that means that little Joe in winter as Johnny Chuck does said Peter I should say not exclaimed little Joe I like the winter too I have such a warm coat that I never get cold there are always places where the water doesn't freeze I can swim for long distances under ice and so I can always get plenty of food do you eat anything but fish? asked Peter Rabbit oh sometimes replied little Joe once in a while I like a little fresh meat for a change and sometimes when fish are scarce I eat frogs but I prefer fish especially salmon and trout how many babies do you have at a time? asked happy jack squirrel usually one to three replied little Joe and only one family a year they are born in my comfortable house which is a burrow in the bank there Mrs. Otter makes a large soft nest of leaves and grass now if you don't mind I think I will go on up the laughing brook Mrs. Otter is waiting for me up there old mother nature told little Joe to go ahead as he disappeared she sighed I am very fond of little Joe Otter said she and it distresses me greatly that he is hunted by man as he is that fur coat of his is valuable and man is forever hunting him for it the Otters were once numerous all over this great country but now they are very scarce and I am afraid that the day isn't far away so little Joe Otter I think this will do for today there are two other members of the weasel family and these like little Joe and Billy Mink are continually being hunted for their fur coats I will tell you about them tomorrow End of Chapter 25 Recording by Leanne Howlett Chapter 26 of the Burgess Animal Book for Children This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This recording by Jamie Wilking The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess Chapter 26 Spike the Martin and Pecan the Fisher the Pine Martin or American Sable and the Fisher or Pennant Martin The two remaining members of the weasel family none of you have ever seen began Old Mother Nature when she opened school at the Old Meeting Place the morning after their visit to the smiling pool you have never seen them because they live in the deep forests of the far north but were you living up there you would know them and the dread of them would sell them be out of your mind one is called Spike the Martin and the other Pecan the Fisher Spike the Martin is also called the Pine Martin and the American Sable and he is one of the handsomest members of the weasel family Shadow the weasel can climb but he spends most of his time on the ground Jimmy Skunk and Digger the Badger are not climbers at all Little Joe Otter spends most of his time in the water but Spike the Martin is a lover of the tree tops and has quite as much at home there as Chatterer the Red Squirrel when he is moving about in the trees he looks much like a very large squirrel while on the ground he might be mistaken for a young fox his coat is a rich dark yellowish brown becoming almost black on the tail and the legs the throat usually is yellow though sometimes it is almost white the sides of his face are grayish and his good sized ears are grayish white on the inside his tail is about half as long as his body and is covered with long hair but isn't bushy like a squirrel while his general shape is that of Shadow the Weasel his body is much heavier in proportion to his size Chatterer you and your cousin Happy Jack may well be thankful that Spike the Martin doesn't live around here but he finds up squirrels and delights to hunt them he can leap from tree to tree quite as easily as either of you and the only possible means of escape for a squirrel he is hunting is a hole too small for Spike to get into no squirrel is more graceful in the trees than is Spike but he by no means confines himself to the trees he is quite at home on the ground and there he moves with much of the quickness of Shadow the Weasel he delights to hunt rabbits and he covers great distances being even more of a traveler like Billy Mink he doesn't kill for the love of killing but merely for food if he kills more than he can eat at the meal he buries it and when he is hungry again he returns to it like all the other members of his family he is a great hunter and mice and also he catches many birds especially those birds which nest on the ground birds, eggs, frogs, toads some insects and fish vary his bill of fare but unlike his smaller cousins he has a wide splash including certain nuts, berries and honey he isn't in the least social with his own kind but prefers to live alone and is always ready to fight if he meets another Bart being so great a traveler he has several dens Mr. Spike makes her nest of grass and moss and a hollow tree is a rule occasionally in a hole in the ground she has from one to five babies in the spring Spike is not a good father for he has nothing to do with his family as I told you in the beginning he is one of the great forests of the north the darker and deeper they are the better it suits him his own cousin Pecan the Fisher and Tufti the Lynx are probably the only natural enemies he has much cause to fear his one great enemy is man his coat is one of the most highly prized of all furs and he is persistently hunted and trapped in fact his coat is one of the cheap prizes of the fur trappers in the same deep dark forest clear across the northern part of the country is Pecan the Fisher also called the pennant Martin and black cat he is larger and heavier than Spike the Martin and his coat is a brownish black light on the sides and browner below his nose, ears, feet and tail are black he gets his name a black cat from his resemblance to a cat with a bushy tail though on the ground he looks more like a black fox like his cousin Spike the Martin he lives in the pine and spruce forests and prefers to be near swamps he is a splendid climber but spends quite as much time on the ground however he is even livelier in the trees than is Spike the Martin Spike can catch a squirrel in the tree taps but Pecan can catch Spike and often does he isn't afraid of leaping to the ground from high up in a tree and often when coming down a tree he comes down hit first he is very fond of hunting the cousins of jump or to hair and is so tireless that he can run them down he is very clever and like his cousin Glutton the Wolverine makes no end of trouble for trappers by stealing the baits from their traps you all remember how frightened Prickly Porky was when I merely mentioned Pecan the Fisher it was because Pecan is almost the only one Prickly Porky has reason to fear if Pecan is hungry he doesn't hesitate to dine on Porcupine he has learned how to turn a Porcupine on his back and as you have already found out the under part of the Porcupine is unprotected just why Pecan should be called Fisher I don't know true he eats fish when he can get them but he isn't a water animal and doesn't go fishing as do Billy Mink and little Joe Otter his food is much the same as that despite the Martin he is especially fond of rabbit and hare he is so strong and savage they can kill a fox and often does Bobby Coon is a good fighter and much bigger and heavier than Pecan but he is no match for Pecan probably all of you have guessed that being a true Martin Pecan's coat is highly prized by the fur trappers he hates the presence of man and with good cause now this ends the Weasel family but that's only one family of the order of Carnivora or Flesh Eaters there is one family you all know so well that I think we will take that up next it is the family to which Ready Fox and Old Man Coyote belong and it is called the Dog Family tomorrow morning when you get here I may have a surprise for you End of Chapter 26 Chapter 27 of the Burgess Animal Book for Children this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by General Lee The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess Chapter 27 Ready Fox joins the school the red, black and silver foxes gray fox, kit fox or swift desert fox, arctic and blue foxes when school was called to order the following morning not one was missing you see with the exception of Jimmy Skunk and Prickly Porky there was not one in whose life Ready Fox did not have a most important part even Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel Tree Folk though they were had many times narrowly missed furnishing ready with the dinner as for Johnny Chuck and Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare and Striped Chipmunk and Danny Meadow Mouse and Whitefoot the Wood Mouse there were few hours of day or night when they did not have Ready in mind knowing that to forget him even for a few minutes might mean the end of them just imagine the feelings of those little people when just as they had comfortably seated themselves for the morning lesson Ready himself stepped out from behind a tree never before was a school so quickly broken up in the winking of an eye Old Mother Nature was alone safe for Ready Fox, Jimmy Skunk, and in the trees Prickly Porky the Porcupine and Happy Jack the Chatterer Ready Fox looked as if he felt uncomfortable I didn't mean to break up your school said he to Old Mother Nature I wouldn't have thought of coming if you hadn't sent for me Old Mother Nature smiled I didn't tell anyone that I was going to send for you Ready said she for I was afraid that if I did no one would come this morning I promised them a surprise but it is clear that no one guessed what that surprise was to be go over by that old stump near the lone little path and sit there Ready then Old Mother Nature called each of the little people by name commanding each to return at once she spoke sternly very sternly indeed one by one they appeared from all sorts of hiding places glancing fearfully towards Ready Fox yet not daring to disobey Old Mother Nature when at last all were crowded about her as closely as they could get Old Mother Nature spoke and this time her voice was soft I am ashamed of you said she truly I am ashamed of you how could you think that I would allow any harm to come to you Ready Fox is here because I sent for him but he is going to sit right where he is until I tell him and not one of you will be harmed by him to begin with I am going to tell you one or two facts about Ready and then I am going to find out just how much you have learned about him yourselves it may seem clear to you that Ready Fox belongs to the same family as Bowser the Hound but it is true both are members of the dog family and thus are quite closely related Hallor the Wolf and Old Man Coyote are also members of the family so all are cousins look closely at Ready and you will see at once that he looks very much like a small dog with a beautiful red coat white waistcoat black feet and bushy tail now Peter you probably know as much about Ready as anyone here at least you should tell us what you have learned in your efforts to keep out of his clutches Peter scratched a long ear thoughtfully and glanced sideways at Ready Fox I certainly ought to know something he was the very first person my mother warned me to watch for because she said he was especially fond of young rabbits and was the slyest smartest and most to be feared of all my enemies since then I have found out that she knew just what she was talking about Johnny Chuck Danny Meadow Mouse and Whitefoot the Wood Mouse nodded as if they quite agreed then Peter continued Ready lives chiefly by hunting and in his turn he is hunted so he needs to have sharp wits when he isn't hunting me he is hunting Danny Meadow Mouse or Whitefoot or Strike Chipmunk or Mrs. Grouse or Bob White or is trying to steal one of Farmer Brown's chickens or is catching frogs along the edge of the smiling pool or grasshoppers out in the green meadows so far as I can make out anything ready can catch furnishes him with food I guess he doesn't eat anything but such things as these your guess is wrong Peter spoke up ready Fox who had been listening with a grin on his crafty face I'm rather fond of certain kinds of fruits you didn't know that did you Peter no I didn't replied Peter I'm glad to know it I think it is dreadful to live entirely by killing others you might add remarked ready that I like a meal of fish occasionally and eggs are always welcome I'm not particular what I eat so long as I can get my stomach full ready Fox hunts with ears eyes and nose continued Peter many a time I've watched him listening for the squeak of Danny Meadowmouse or watching for the grass to move and show where Danny was hiding and many a time he has found my scent with his wonderful nose and followed me just as Bowser the Hound follows him I guess there isn't much going on that ready's eyes ears and nose don't tell him but it is ready's quick wits that the rest of us fear most we never know what new trick he will try lots of enemies are easy to fool but ready isn't one of them sometimes I think he knows more about me than I know about myself I guess it is just pure luck that he hasn't caught me with some of those smart tricks of his ready hunts both day and night but I think he prefers night I guess it all depends on how hungry he is more than once I've seen him bringing home a chicken but I am told that he is smart enough not to steal chickens near his home but always to go some distance to get them also I've been told that he is too clever to go to the same chicken yard two nights in succession so far as I know he isn't afraid of anyone except a hunter with a terrible gun he doesn't seem to mind being chased by Bowser the Hound at all I don't spoke up ready I rather enjoy it it gives me good exercise anytime I can't fool Bowser by breaking my trail so he can't find it again I deserve to be caught I'm not even so terribly afraid of a hunter with a gun you see usually I can guess what a hunter will do better than he can what I will do old mother nature knotted that sounds like boasting said she but it isn't ready fox is one of the few animals who has succeeded in holding his own against man and he has done it simply by using his wits there is no other animal as large as ready fox who has succeeded as he has and living close to the homes of men it is simply because he has made the most of the senses I have given him he has learned to use his eyes ears and nose at all times and to understand and make the most of the information they bring him ready has always been hunted by man and it is this very thing which has so sharpened his wits it is seldom that he is guilty of making the same mistake twice all of you little people fear ready and I suspect some of you hate him but always remember that he never kills for the love of killing and only when he has food there would be something sadly missing in the green forests and on the green meadows where there are no ready fox ready where do you and mrs. ready make your home and how do you raise your babies this year our home is up in the old pasture replied ready we have the nicest kind of a house dug in the ground underneath a big rock it has only one entrance but this is because there is no need of any other no one could possibly dig us out there last year our home was on the green forest and there were three doorways to that the year before we dug our house in a gravelly bank just within the edge of the green forest the babies are born in a comfortable bedroom deep underground sometimes we have a storeroom in addition to the bedroom their mrs. ready and I can keep food when there is more than can be eaten at one meal when the babies are first born in the spring and mrs. ready cannot leave them I take food to her when the youngsters are big and they are hungry for them usually we hunt separately but sometimes we hunt together you know often too can do what one cannot if bowser the hound happens to find the trail of mrs. ready when there are babies at home she leads him far away from our home then I join her and take her place so that she can slip away and go back to the babies bowser never knows the difference our children are well trained if I do say it we teach them how to hunt how to fool their enemies we have learned no one has a better training than a young fox here is a conundrum for you little folks said old mother nature when is a red fox not a red fox everybody blinked most of them looked as if they thought old mother nature must be joking but suddenly chatterer the red squirrel whose wits are naturally quick remembered how old mother nature had told them that there were black gray squirrels when he is some other color that's the answer said old mother nature once in a while a pair of red foxes will have a baby who hasn't a red hair on him he will be all black with perhaps just the tip of his tail white or his fur will be all black just tipped with white then he is called a black fox or a silver fox he is still a red fox yet there is nothing right about him sometimes the fur is only partly marked with black and then he is called a cross fox a great many folks have opposed that the black or silver fox and the cross fox were distinct kinds they are not they are simply red foxes with different coats the fur of the silver fox is considered by man to be one of the choices of all furs and tremendous prices are paid for it this means of course that a young fox whose coat is black will need to be very smart indeed if he would live to old age for once he has been seen by man he will be hunted unceasingly the fox had been listening intently and now mother nature noticed a worried look on his face what is it ready said she you look anxious I am anxious said he what you have just said has worried me you see one of my cubs at home is all black now that I have learned that his fur is so valuable Mrs. ready and I will have to take special pains to teach him all we know I want you all to know that ready ready is the best of fathers and the best of mates there is one thing I do envy ready spoke up Peter rabbit and that is that big tail of his it is a wonderful tail I wish I had one like it how everybody laughed as they tried to picture Peter rabbit with the big tail like that of ready fox I am afraid you wouldn't get far if you had to carry that around subtle mother nature even ready finds it rather a burden in wet weather when it becomes heavy with water that is one reason you do not find him abroad much when it is raining or winter when the snow is soft and wet ready fox is at home all over the northern half of this country and everywhere he is the same sly clever fellow whom you all know so well in the south and some parts of the east and west ready has a cousin of about his own size whose coat is gray with red on the sides of his neck ears and across his breast the under part of his body is reddish his throat in the middle of his breast are white he is called the gray fox he prefers the green forest to the open country for he is not nearly as smart as his cousin ready he is if anything a better runner but his wits are slower and he cannot so well hold his own up against man instead of making his home in a hole in the ground he usually chooses a hollow tree trunk or hollow log the babies are born in a nest of leaves in the bottom of a hollow tree in some parts of the west this fox is called the tree fox because often he climbs up in low trees the gray fox of the south is not the only cousin of ready's continued old mother nature in certain parts of the great west on the plains lives one of the smallest of ready's cousins called the kit fox or swift he is no larger than black pussy farmer browns cat and gets his name of swift from his great speed in running he is a prairie animal and lives in burrows in the ground as most prairie animals do his back is of a grayish color while his sides are yellowish red beneath he is white the upper side of his tail is yellowish gray below it is yellowish and the tip is black in general appearance he is more like the gray fox than ready he lacks the quick wit of ready fox and is easily trapped in the hot dry regions of the south west where the kangaroo rats and pocket mice live is another cousin closely related to the kit fox this is called the desert fox like most of the little people who live on the desert he is seldom seen by day he is very swift of foot he digs a burrow with several entrances and his food consists largely of pocket mice, kangaroo rats ground squirrels and such other small animals as are found in that part of the country like his cousin the kit fox he is not especially quick-witted neither the kit fox nor the desert fox are very valuable for their coats and so are not hunted and trapped as much as our ready fox and his two cousins of the great north the arctic fox and the blue fox the arctic or white fox lives in the far north in the land of snow and ice he is a little fellow bigger than the kit fox but only about two thirds the size of ready fox and very beautiful way up in the far north his entire coat is snowy white the year round the fur is long very thick and soft his tail is very large and handsome when he lives a little farther south he changes his coat in the summer to one of a bluish brown but just as soon as winter approaches he resumes his white coat the young are born in a burrow in the ground if the parents happen to be living far enough south for the ground to be free of snow in the far north their home is a burrow and a snow bank and there the babies are born the white coats of the arctic foxes who live in a world of white are of great help to them when hunting or when trying to escape from enemies it is difficult to see them against their white surroundings in summer their food consists very largely of duck and other wild fowl which nest in great numbers in the far north in the winter they hunt for lemmings, arctic hares and a cousin of mrs. grouse called the tarmigan who lives up there they pick the bones left by polar bears and wolves and winter is not easy and so the arctic fox is a great traveler the blue fox is really only a colored white fox just as the black fox is a black red fox and his habits are of course just the same as the habits of the white fox there are some islands in the far north called the pribaloff islands and on them live many blue foxes both the white and the blue foxes are much hunted for their coats which are considered very valuable by man certainly they are very beautiful while these cousins of reddies are clever hunters they do not begin to be as quick-witted as reddy and so are much more easily trapped now i think this will do for reddy fox and his relatives reddy is going to stay right here with me until the rest of you have had a chance to get home after that you will have to watch out for yourselves as usual just remember that reddy has become the quick-witted person he is because he has been so much hunted if you are as smart as reddy you will understand that the more he hunts you the quicker-witted you will also become tomorrow we will take up reddy's big cousins, the wolves end of chapter 27 chapter 28 of the burgess animal book for children this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jenna Lee the burgess animal book for children by Thornton W. Burgess chapter 28 old man coyote and how are the wolf the prairie wolf or coyote and the timberer or grey wolf of course you all know to what branch of the dog family old man coyote belongs said old mother nature and looked expectantly at the circle of little folks gathered around her no one answered well exclaimed old mother nature I am surprised, I am very much surprised I suppose that all of you knew that old man coyote is a member of the wolf branch of the family do you mean that he is really a true wolf, asked striped chipmunk timidly of course replied old mother nature he is all wolf and nothing but wolf he is the prairie wolf so called because he is a lover of the great open plains and not of the deep forests of the big cousin howler the timber wolf ready fox is smart but sometimes I believe old man coyote is smarter you have got to get up very early indeed to get ahead of old man coyote old man coyote varies in size from not very much bigger than ready fox to almost the size of his big cousin howler the timber wolf also he varies in color from a general brownish grey to a yellowish brown being whitish underneath his face is rather longer than that of ready fox he has a brushy tail but it is not as thick as ready in his habits old man coyote is much like ready but being larger and stronger he is able to kill larger animals and has won the hate of man by killing young pigs lambs, newly born calves and poultry because of this he has been and is continually hunted and trapped but like ready fox the more he is hunted the smarter he becomes and he is quite capable of taking care of himself he is one of the swiftest of all runners many people think him cowardly because he is always ready to run away at the least hint of danger he isn't cowardly however he is simply smart too smart to run any unnecessary risk old man coyote believes absolutely in safety first a very wise rule for everybody the result is that he is seldom led into the mistake of simply thinking a thing is alright because of this he is very hard to trap no matter how hungry he may be he will turn his back on a baited trap even when the trap is so cunningly hidden that he cannot see it old man coyote is a good father and husband and a good provider for his family he and mrs. coyote have a large family every year sometimes as many as 10 babies their home is in the ground and is very similar to that of ready fox almost everything eatable including such animals and birds as they can catch frogs, toads, snakes and insects, dead bodies they may find and even some fruits mr. and mrs. coyote often hunt together sometimes when the children are full grown they all hunt together when they do this they can pull down lightfoot the deer old man coyote has one of the strangest voices to be heard anywhere and he delights to use it especially at night it is like many voices shouting together and one who hears it for the first time cannot believe all that sound comes from one throat his big cousin howler the grey wolf sometimes called timber wolf is found now only in the forests of the north and the mountains of the great west once he roamed over the greater part of this great country howler is as keen-witted as and perhaps keener-witted than ready fox or old man coyote he has great strength and courage he is one of the most feared of all the people of the green forest in summer when food is plentiful howler and mrs. wolf devote themselves to the bringing up of their family and are careful not to be over-bold but when winter comes howler and his friends get together and hunt in packs with their wonderful noses they can follow lightfoot the deer and run him down they kill sheep and young cattle the harder the winter the bolder they become they have been known to attack man himself in the far north they grow especially large and because of the scarcity of food there in winter they become exceedingly fierce they can go an astonishingly long time without food and still retain their strength but hunger makes them merciless they will not attack each other but if one in the pack becomes injured the others will turn upon him and kill and eat him at once howler and mrs. wolf mate for life and each is at all times loyal to the other they are the best of parents and the little wolves are carefully trained in all that a wolf should know always the hand of man has been against them and this fact has developed their wits and cunning to a wonderful degree man in his effort to destroy them has used poison cleverly hiding it in pieces of meat left where howler and his friends could find them howler soon found out that there was something wrong with pieces of meat left about and now it is seldom that any of his family come to harm in that way he is equally cunning in discovering traps even traps buried in one of his trails sometimes he will dig them up and spring them without being caught when wolves hunt in packs they have a leader usually the strongest or the smartest among them and this leader they obey in all the great forests there is no more dreadful sound than the howling of a pack of wolves there is something in it that strikes terror to the hearts of all who hear it the color of howlers coat usually is brownish gray and that is why he is called the gray wolf but sometimes it is almost black and in the far north it becomes snowy white howler is very closely related to the dogs which men keep as pets they are really first cousins few dogs dare meet howler in battle my exclaimed peter rabbit I am glad howler doesn't live around here you may well be said old mother nature he would make just about one bite of you peter peter shivered our old man coyote and howler friends asked peter I wouldn't call them exactly friends replied old mother nature old man coyote takes pains to keep out of howlers way but he is clever enough to know that when howler has made a good kill there may be some left after howler has filled his own stomach so when howler is hunting in old man coyote's neighborhood the ladder keeps an eye and ear open to what is going on and the long ago days when thunder foot the bison was lord of the prairies howlers family lived on the prairies as well as in the forests but now howler sticks pretty closely to the forests and mountains leaving the prairies and brushy plains to old man coyote all branches of the dog family do one thing they walk on their toes they never put the whole foot down flat as does buster bear and as you have already discovered all branches of the dog family are very smart they are intelligent hello there is black pussy the cat from farmer browns coming down the lone little paths I suspect it will be well for some of you smallest ones to get out of sight before she arrives she doesn't belong over here in the green forest but she has a cousin who does yaller the bobcat shall I tell you about yaller and his cousins tomorrow we'd love to have you right happy jack speaking for all then as black pussy was drawing near they separated and went their several ways end of chapter 28