its stripes.
The first horse-like creatures were probably striped in much the same
way.
These animals never ate hay and oats; and, at first, they did not eat
much grass.
There was little, if any, grass at that time.
These horse-like creatures lived on marshes and in swamps bordering
streams and lakes.
They probably ate stems and leaves of plants that grew on the marshy
lands.
They did not run as horses do to-day, but they plodded along on the
soft ground.
They spread out their toes as they walked along, so as to keep from
sinking.
When the dry land began to be covered with grass, little by little
they left the marshes.
They went to the grassy highlands to live, and became more and more
like horses.
Some of the cat-like creatures went to the highlands, but they did not
go for the grass.
They were becoming more and more like tigers, and they went to hunt
the wild horses.
The timid horses ran when their enemies came, for there was no place
in which to hide.
When they ran they stepped on the tips of their toes.
They used the third toe so much more than the others that it became
larger and larger.
Its hoof became hard and strong.
The first and fifth toes were used so little that after thousands of
years they disappeared.
Meanwhile the horses had learned to run fast.
When a pack of wolves chased them, they galloped away.
They found rich grass on the highlands.
Colts grew to be larger than their mothers.
By the time they were as large as ponies they used only the third toe.
Two side toes hung like the dew-claws of a dog, but they did not reach
the ground.
When the Tree-dwellers lived, little bones beneath the skin were all
that was left to show where the side toes had been.
The hoof had become round and hard.
The wild horses ran very fast.
They outran all other creatures.
When surprised, they struck hard blows with their hoofs, and they bit
with their sharp teeth.
But if there was a chance to get away, they always ran when they were
attacked.

THINGS TO DO

_Name all the animals you know that can climb trees. What kind of feet
do they have?_
_Name all the animals you know that have hoofs. Tell all you can about
these hoofs._
_Notice the foot of a horse, a cow, a dog, or a cat, and model it in
clay._
_What pet do you have that is like a wolf?_

XVIII.

T