s teeth.

But a feline uses its claws to seize its food, and even to defend
itself. You may have noticed that even an ordinary cat defends itself
with its claws. When a dog chases a cat and corners it, the cat turns
and defends itself with its claws.

Once upon a time, many, many hundred years ago, the dog did use its
claws; they were then retractile. But the dog stopped using its claws;
then they became rigid. The dog lost the power of drawing in its claws.

In our own bodies, if we do not use a particular gift for a long time,
we lose the power of using that gift. When we are born, our left hand is
just as good as our right hand. But because we do not use the left hand
much in doing things, we lose the power of using it quite as well as we
use the right hand. Little boys and girls should practice using the left
hand. Then if by some accident the right hand is lost, they would not be
quite helpless.

As for the felines, they retain the full power of their claws by
constant use. So, because the claws are very useful, every feline takes
care of its claws,--especially the tiger. Why, _the tiger cleans his
claws every day_! In the jungle there are many trees that have a soft
bark. So the tiger goes to one of these trees every day, and digs his
claws into the bark. Then he draws his claws sideways along the bark,
and that cleans out the claws. The tigress also cleans her claws every
day in the same manner.

Some little boys and girls do not clean their nails every day. Then
sometimes a piece of dirt gets in under a nail and causes a sore. But
the tiger and tigress are wiser. If part of a piece of meat that they
have torn up were to remain under a claw, it would fester and cause a
sore. So the tiger and tigress clean their claws every day.

_The Feline Has Padded Paws_

The paws of every feline have also a special quality. The under part of
each paw is thickly padded with powerful muscles. That gives the feline
three advantages.

First advantage: it enables the feline to _stalk_ its prey. That is, the
feline can creep up to its prey quite silently. As its paws are padded,
they make no sound on the ground--just as your footfall makes no sound
when you wear rubbers over your shoes.

Second advantage: the padded paw enables the feline to strike down its
prey with a severe blow. When it wants to strike down its prey, the
feline hardens the muscles under its paw; the blow of its paw is then
something like that of a h