a pig
Eat a nice new fig;
If you saw a mouse
Throwing down a house;
If you saw a stag
Picking up a rag;
If you saw a cow
Make a pretty bow;
If you saw a fly
Take its slate and cry--
You would surely say,
"What peculiar play!"
Or would surely sing,
"What a funny thing!"

LESSON XLI.

_HOW THE MOLE LOOKS._

[Illustration]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Its fur is fine and close, so that it is able to live in very damp
places, and the wet does not get through to the skin.

11. Its ears and eyes are deep down in the fur, so that, in crawling
through a hole, no dirt or dust can get into them.

12. Its teeth are not chisel-shaped, for gnawing, but are sharp and
pointed, like the teeth of animals that live on flesh; but they are so
small that they would break in trying to eat the bones of even a
mouse.

LESSON XLII.

_HOW THE MOLE WORKS AND LIVES._

[Illustration]

1. As the mole is not made for the sunlight, it must live below
ground. With its strong fore paws it digs in