The Burgess Animal Book for Children
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Thornton W. Burgess >> The Burgess Animal Book for Children
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"If you please, Mother Nature, why is that cousin of ours so fond
of the water?" piped up Peter.
"Because," replied Old Mother Nature, "he lives in marshy country
where there is a great deal of water. He is very nearly the same
size as you, Peter, and looks very much like you. But his legs
are not quite so long, his ears are a little smaller, and his tail
is brownish instead of white. He is a poor runner and so in time
of danger he takes to the water. For that matter, he goes swimming
for pleasure. The water is warm down there, and he dearly loves
to paddle about in it. If a Fox chases him he simply plunges into
the water and hides among the water plants with only his eyes and
his nose out of water."
"Does he make his home in the water like Jerry Muskrat?" asked
Peter innocently.
Mother Nature smiled and shook her head. "Certainly not," she
replied. "His home is on the ground. His babies are born in a
nest made just as Mrs. Peter makes her nest for your babies, and
Mrs. Jumper makes a nest for Jumper's babies. It is made of grass
and lined with soft fur which Mrs. Rabbit pulls from her own
breast, and it is very carefully hidden. By the way, Peter how do
your babies differ from the babies of your Cousin Jumper?"
Peter shook his head. "I don't know," said he. "My babies don't
have their eyes open when they are born, and they haven't any hair."
Jumper pricked up his long ears. "What's that?" said he.
"Why, my babies have their eyes open and have the dearest little
fur coats!"
Old Mother Nature chuckled. "That is the difference," said she.
"I guess both of you have learned something."
"You said a little while ago that Jumper isn't the biggest of our
family," said Peter. "If you please, who is?"
"There are several bigger than Jumper," replied Old Mother Nature,
and smiled as she saw the funny look of surprise on the faces of
Peter and Jumper. "There is one way up the Frozen North and there
are two cousins way out in the Great West. They are as much
bigger than Jumper as Jumper is bigger than you, Peter. But I
haven't time to tell you about them now. If you really want to
learn about them, be here promptly at sun-up to-morrow morning.
Hello! Here comes Reddy Fox, and he looks to me as if a good
breakfast would not come amiss. Let me see what you have learned
about taking care of yourselves."
Peter and Jumper gave one startled look in the direction Mother
Nature was pointing. Sure enough, there was Reddy Fox. Not far
away was a hollow log. Peter wasted no time in getting to it.
In fact, he left in such a hurry that he forgot to say good-by to
Old Mother Nature. But she didn't mind, for she quite understood
Peter's feelings, and she laughed when she saw his funny little
white tail disappear inside the hollow log. As for Jumper, he
promptly took to his long legs and disappeared with great bounds,
Reddy Fox racing after him.
CHAPTER III More of Peter's Long-Legged Cousins
At sun-up the next morning Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare were on
hand promptly for their next lesson. Old Mother Nature smiled as
she saw the eager curiosity shining in their eyes. She didn't wait
for them to ask questions. "Yesterday," said she, "I told you
about your water-loving cousin, the Marsh Rabbit. You have another
relative down there in the Sunny South who is almost as fond of
the water. Some folks call him the Swamp Rabbit. Others call him
the Swamp Hare. The latter is really the best name for him, because
he is a true Hare. He lives in swamps instead of marshes, but he is
a splendid swimmer and fond of the water. When he is chased by an
enemy he makes for the nearest point or stream."
"How big is he?" asked Jumper.
"Just about your size, Jumper," replied Old Mother Nature. "If
anything, he is a little bit heavier. But because his hair lies
much smoother than yours, you probably would look a little bit
bigger if you were sitting beside him. As with his cousin, the
Marsh Rabbit, the hair on his feet is thin. His toes are rather
long and he can spread them widely, which is a great help in
swimming. He doesn't have to take to the water as his little
cousin does, for he is a very good runner. But he does take to it
as the easiest way of getting rid of those who are chasing him.
The Marsh Rabbit and the Swamp Hare are the only members of your
family in all the Great World who are fond of the water and who
are at home in it. Now, who shall I tell you about?"
"Our biggest cousins," cried Peter and Jumper together. "The ones
you told us yesterday are bigger than Jumper," added Peter. "It
is hard to believe that there can be any much bigger than he."
Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled. "It is often hard to believe
things you know nothing about," said she. "Compared with these
other relatives, Jumper really isn't big at all. He seems big to
you, Peter, but if he should meet his cousin, Snow White the Arctic
Hare, who lives way up in the Frozen North, I am quite sure Jumper
would feel small. Snow White looks very much like Jumper in his
winter coat, for he is all white save the tips of his ears,
which are black."
"Does he wear a white coat all year round?" asked Peter eagerly.
"When he lives so far north that there is snow and ice for most of
the year, he does," replied Old Mother Nature. "But when he lives
far enough south for the snow to disappear for a little while in
the summer, he changes his white coat for one of gray."
"But how can he live so far north that the snow and ice seldom melt?"
asked Peter, looking very much puzzled. "What can he find to eat?"
"Even way up there there is moss growing under the snow. And in the
short summer other plants grow. During the long winter Snow White
digs down through the snow to get these. He also eats the bark and
twigs of little stunted trees. But big as he is, you have a cousin
who is still bigger, the biggest of all the family."
"Who is he?" Jumper and Peter cried together.
"He is called White-tailed Jack," replied Old Mother Nature. "And
he lives chiefly on the great plains of the Northwest, though
sometimes he is found in the mountains and forests. He is sometimes
called the Prairie Hare. In winter his coat is white, but in
summer it is a light brown. Summer or winter his tail is white,
wherein he is much like you, Peter. It is because of this that he
is called White-tailed Jack."
"Is his tail as short as mine?" asked Peter eagerly.
Old Mother Nature laughed right out. "No, Peter," she replied.
"It wouldn't be called a long tail by any other animal, but for a
member of your family it really is long, and when White-tailed
Jack is running he switches it from side to side. His hind legs
are very long and powerful, and he can make a single jump of twenty
feet without half trying. Not even Old Man Coyote can catch him
in a straightaway race. You think Jumper's ears are long, Peter,
but they are short compared to the ears of White-tailed Jack. Not
only are his ears long, but they are very big. When he squats in
his form and lays his ears back they reach way over his shoulders.
Like the other members of the Hare family he doesn't use holes in
the ground or hollow logs. He trusts to his long legs and to his
wonderful speed to escape from his enemies. Among the latter are
Howler the Wolf, Old Man Coyote, Eagles, Hawks and Owls. He is
so big that he would make five or six of you, Peter."
Peter drew a long breath. "It is dreadfully hard to believe that
I can have a cousin as big as that," he exclaimed. "But of course
if you say it is so, it is so," he hastened to add. "Have I any
other cousins anywhere near as big?"
Old Mother Nature nodded. "There are some others very like
White-tailed Jack, only not quite as big," said she. "They have
just such long hind legs, and just such great ears, but their
coats are different, and they live on the great plains farther
south. Some of them live so far south that it is warm all the
year round. One of these latter is Antelope Jack, whose home is
in the Southwest."
"Tell us about him," begged Peter.
"To begin with," replied Old Mother Nature, "he is a member of the
big Jack Rabbit or Jack Hare branch of your family. None of this
branch should be called a Rabbit. All the members are first cousins
to Jumper and are true Hares. All have big ears, long, rather thin
necks, and long legs. Even their front legs are comparatively long.
Antelope Jack is probably next in size to White-tailed Jack. Strange
to say, although he lives where it is warm for most of the year, his
coat is very largely white. His back is a yellowish-brown and so is
his throat. But his sides are white. The surprising thing about
him is that he has the power of making himself seem almost wholly
white. He can make the white hair spread out at will by means of
some special little muscles which I have given him, so that the
white of his sides at times almost seems to meet on his back. When
he does this in the sun it makes flashes of white which can be seen
a long way. By means of this Antelope Jack and his friends can
keep track of each other when they are a long distance apart. There
is only one other animal who can flash signals in this way, and that
is the Antelope of whom I will tell you some other time. It is
because Jack flashes signals in this way that he is called Antelope
Jack. In his habits he is otherwise much like the other members of
his family. He trusts to his long legs and his wonderful powers of
jumping to keep him out of danger. He is not as well known as his
commoner cousin, plain Jack Rabbit. Everybody knows Jack Rabbit."
Peter shook his head. "I don't," said he very meekly.
"Then it is time you did," replied Old Mother Nature. "If you had
ever been in the Far West you would know him. Everybody out there
knows him. He isn't quite as big as Antelope Jack but still he is
a big fellow. He wears a brownish coat much like Jumper's, and
the tips of his long ears are black. His tail is longer than
Jumper's, and when he runs he carries it down."
"I don't carry mine down," Peter piped up.
Old Mother Nature laughed right out. "True enough, Peter, true
enough," said she. "You couldn't if you wanted to. It isn't long
enough to carry any way but up. Jack has more of a tail than you
have, just as he has longer legs. My, how he can run! He goes with
great bounds and about every tenth bound he jumps very high. This
is so that he can get a good look around to watch out for enemies."
"Who are his enemies?" asked Peter.
"Foxes, Coyotes, Hawks, Eagles, Owls, Weasels, and men," replied
Old Mother Nature. "In fact, he has about as many enemies as
you have."
"I suppose when you say men, you mean hunters," said Peter.
Old Mother Nature nodded. "Yes," said she, "I mean those who hunt
him for fun and those who hunt him to get rid of him."
Peter pricked up his ears. "What do they want to get rid of him
for. What harm does he do?" he asked.
"When he lives far away from the homes of men he does no harm,"
replied Old Mother Nature. "But when he lives near the homes of
men he gets into mischief, just as you do when you visit Farmer
Brown's garden." Old Mother Nature looked very severe when she
said this and Peter hung his head.
"I know I ought to keep away from that garden," said Peter very
meekly, "but you have no idea what a temptation it is. The things
in that garden do taste so good."
Old Mother Nature turned her head to hide the twinkle in her eyes.
When she turned toward Peter again her face was severe as before.
"That is no excuse, Peter Rabbit," said she. "You should be
sufficiently strong-minded not to yield to temptation. Yielding
to temptation is the cause of most of the trouble in this world.
It has made man an enemy to Jack Rabbit. Jack just cannot keep
away from the crops planted by men. His family is very large, and
when a lot of them get together in a field of clover or young wheat,
or in a young orchard where the bark on the trees is tender and
sweet, they do so much damage that the owner is hardly to be blamed
for becoming angry and seeking to kill them. Yes, I am sorry to
say, Jack Rabbit becomes a terrible nuisance when he goes where
he has no business. Now I guess you have learned sufficient about
your long-legged cousins. I've a great deal to do, so skip along
home, both of you."
"If you please, Mother Nature, may we come again to-morrow?"
asked Peter.
"What for?" demanded Old Mother Nature. "Haven't you learned enough
about your family?"
"Yes," replied Peter, "but there are lots and lots of things I
would like to know about other people. If you please, I would
like to come to school to you every day. You see, the more I
learn about my neighbors, the better able I will be to take care
of myself."
"All right, Mr. Curiosity," replied Old Mother Nature good-naturedly,
"come again to-morrow morning. I wouldn't for the world deny any one
who is really seeking for knowledge."
So Peter and Jumper politely bade her good-by and started for
their homes.
CHAPTER IV Chatterer and Happy Jack Join
Peter Rabbit, on his way to school to Old Mother Nature, was trying
to make up his mind about which of his neighbors he would ask. He
had learned so many surprising things about his own family that he
shrewdly suspected many equally surprising things were to be learned
about his neighbors. But there were so many neighbors he couldn't
decide which one to ask about first.
But that matter was settled for him, and in a funny way. Hardly
had he reached the edge of the Green Forest when he was hailed by a
sharp voice. "Hello, Peter Rabbit!" said this sharp voice. "Where
are you bound at this hour of the morning? You ought to be heading
for home in the dear Old Briar-patch."
Peter knew that voice the instant he heard it. It was the voice of
Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel. Happy Jack was seated on the top of
an old stump, eating a nut. "I'm going to school," replied Peter
with a great deal of dignity.
"Going to school! Ho, ho, ho! Going to school!" exclaimed Happy
Jack. "Pray tell me to whom you are going to school, and what for?"
"I'm going to school to Old Mother Nature," retorted Peter. "I've
been going for several days, and so has my cousin, Jumper the Hare.
We've learned a lot about our own family and now we are going to
learn about the other little people of the Green Forest and the
Green Meadows."
"Pooh!" exclaimed Happy Jack. "Pooh! I know all about my own family,
and I guess there isn't much worth knowing about my neighbors that
I don't know."
"Is that so, Mr. Know-it-all," retorted Peter. "I don't believe
you even know all your own cousins. I thought I knew all mine, but
I found I didn't."
"What are you fellows talking about?" asked another voice, a sharp
scolding voice, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel jumped from one
tree to another just above Peter's head.
"Peter is trying to make me believe that I don't know as much as I
might about our own family," snapped Happy Jack indignantly. "He
is on his way to school to Old Mother Nature and has advised me to
join him. Isn't that a joke?"
"Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't," retorted Chatterer, who isn't
the best of friends with his cousin, Happy Jack. "If I don't know
as much about the Squirrel family as you do, may I never find another
nut as long as I live. But at that, I'm not sure I know all there
is to know. I think it would be fun to go to school for a while.
What do you say, Peter, if I go along with you?"
Peter said that he thought it would be a very fine thing and that
Chatterer never would regret it. Chatterer winked at his cousin,
Happy Jack, and followed Peter, only of course, Chatterer kept in
the trees while Peter was on the ground. Happy Jack hesitated a
minute and then, curiosity becoming too much for him, he hastened
after the others.
"Hello!" exclaimed Old Mother Nature, as Happy Jack and Chatterer
appeared with Peter Rabbit. "What are you frisky folks doing
over here?"
Happy Jack and Chatterer appeared to have lost their tongues,
something very unusual for them, especially for Chatterer. The
fact is, in the presence of Old Mother Nature they felt bashful.
Peter replied for them. "They've decided to come to school,
too," said he. "Happy Jack says he knows all about his own
family, but he has come along to find out if he really does."
"It won't take us long to find out," said Old Mother Nature softly
and her eyes twinkled with amusement. "How many cousins have
you, Happy Jack?"
Happy Jack thought for a moment. "Three," he replied, but he
didn't say it in a very positive way. Peter chuckled to himself,
for he knew that already doubt was beginning to grow in Happy
Jack's mind.
"Name them," commanded Old Mother Nature promptly.
"Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Timmy the Flying Squirrel, and
Striped Chipmunk," replied Happy Jack.
"He's forgotten Rusty the Fox Squirrel," shouted Chatterer,
dancing about gleefully.
Happy Jack looked crestfallen and gave Chatterer an angry look.
"That's right, Chatterer," said Old Mother Nature. "Rusty is a
very important member of the Squirrel family. Now suppose you
name the others."
"Wha--wha--what others?" stammered Chatterer. "I don't know of
any others."
Peter Rabbit hugged himself with glee as he watched the faces of
Happy Jack and Chatterer. "They don't know any more about their
family than we did about ours," he whispered in one of the long
ears of Jumper the Hare.
As for Old Mother Nature, she smiled indulgently. "Put on your
thinking-caps, you two," said she. "You haven't named half of
them. You are not wholly to blame for that, for some of them you
never have seen, but there is one member of the Squirrel family
whom both of you know very well, yet whom neither of you named.
Put on your thinking-caps."
Chatterer looked at Happy Jack, and Happy Jack looked at Chatterer,
and each scratched his head. Each wanted to be the first to think
of that other cousin, for each was jealous of the other. But though
they scratched and scratched their heads, they couldn't think who
that other cousin could be. Old Mother Nature waited a few minutes
before she told them. Then, seeing that either they couldn't
remember or didn't know, she said, "You didn't mention Johnny Chuck."
"Johnny Chuck!" exclaimed Chatterer and Happy Jack together, and
the look of surprise on their faces was funny to see. For that
matter, the looks on the faces of Peter Rabbit and Jumper the
Hare were equally funny.
Old Mother Nature nodded. "Johnny Chuck," she repeated. "He is a
member of the Squirrel family. He belongs to the Marmot branch,
but he is a Squirrel just the same. He is one of your cousins."
"He's a mighty funny looking Squirrel," said Chatterer, jerking
his tail as only he can.
"That just shows your ignorance, Chatterer," replied Old Mother
Nature rather sharply. "I'm surprised at the ignorance of you
two." She looked first at Chatterer, than at Happy Jack. "It is
high time you came to school to me for a while. You've got a lot
to learn. For that matter, so have Peter and Jumper. Now which
of you can tell me what order you all belong to?"
Happy Jack looked at Chatterer, Chatterer looked at Peter Rabbit,
and Peter looked at Jumper the Hare. On the face of each was such
a funny, puzzled expression that Old Mother Nature almost laughed
right out. Finally Peter Rabbit found his tongue. "If you please,"
said he, "I guess we don't know what you mean by an order."
"I thought as much," said Old Mother Nature. "I thought as much.
In the first place, the animals of the Great World are divided
into big groups or divisions, and then these groups are divided
into smaller groups, and these in turn into still smaller groups.
Happy Jack and Chatterer belong to a group called the Squirrel
family, and Peter and Jumper to a group called the Hare family.
Both of these families and several other families belong to a
bigger group called an order, and this order is the order of
Gnawers, or Rodents."
Peter Rabbit fairly jumped up in the air, he was so excited. "Then
Jumper and I must be related to Happy Jack and Chatterer," he cried.
"In a way you are," replied Old Mother Nature. "It isn't a very
close relationship, still you are related. All of you are Rodents.
So are all the members of the Rat and Mouse family, the Beaver
family, the Porcupine family, the Pocket Gopher family, the Pika
family, and the Sewellel family."
By this time Peter's eyes looked as if they would pop right out of
his head. "This is the first time I've ever heard of some of those
families," said he. "My, what a lot we have to learn! Is it
because all the members of all those families have teeth for gnawing
that they are all sort of related?"
Old Mother Nature looked pleased. "Peter," said she, "I think you
ought to go to the head of the class. That is just why. All the
members of all the families I have named belong to the same order,
the order of Rodents. All the members have big, cutting, front
teeth. Animals without such teeth cannot gnaw. Now, as you and
Jumper have learned about your family, it is the turn of Happy Jack
and Chatterer to learn about their family. Theirs is rather a large
family, and it is divided into three groups, the first of which
consists of the true Squirrels, to which group both Happy Jack and
Chatterer belong. The second group consists of the Marmots, and
Johnny Chuck belongs to this. The third group Timmy the Flying
Squirrel has all to himself."
"Where does Striped Chipmunk come in?" asked Chatterer.
"I'm coming to that," replied Old Mother Nature. "The true Squirrels
are divided into the Tree Squirrels, Rock Squirrels, and Ground
Squirrels. Of course Chatterer and Happy Jack are Tree Squirrels."
"And Striped Chipmunk is a Ground Squirrel," interrupted Peter,
looking as if he felt very much pleased with his own smartness.
Old Mother Nature shook her head. "You are wrong this time,
Peter," said she, and Peter looked as foolish as he felt. "Striped
Chipmunk is a Rock Squirrel. Seek Seek the Spermophile who lives
on the plains of the West and is often called Gopher Squirrel, is
the true Ground Squirrel. Now I can't spend any more time with you
little folks this morning, because I've too much to do. To-morrow
morning I shall expect Chatterer to tell me all about Happy Jack,
and Happy Jack to tell me all about Chatterer. Now scamper along,
all of you, and think over what you have learned this morning."
So Peter and Jumper and Chatterer and Happy Jack thanked Old Mother
Nature for what she had told them and scampered away. Peter headed
straight for the far corner of the Old Orchard where he was sure he
would find Johnny Chuck. He couldn't get there fast enough, for he
wanted to be the first to tell Johnny Chuck that he was a Squirrel.
You see he didn't believe that Johnny knew it.
CHAPTER V The Squirrels of the Trees
Peter Rabbit found Johnny Chuck sitting on his doorstep, sunning
himself. Peter was quite out of breath because he had hurried so.
"Do you know that you are a Squirrel, Johnny Chuck?" he panted.
Johnny slowly turned his head and looked at Peter as if he thought
Peter had suddenly gone crazy. "What are you talking about, Peter
Rabbit? I'm not a Squirrel; I'm a Woodchuck," he replied.
"Just the same, you are a Squirrel," retorted Peter. "The Woodchucks
belong to the Squirrel family. Old Mother Nature says so, and if she
says so, it is so. You'd better join our school, Johnny Chuck, and
learn a little about your own relatives."
Johnny Chuck blinked his eyes and for a minute or two couldn't find
a word to say. He knew that if Peter were telling the truth as to
what Old Mother Nature had said, it must be true that he was member
of the Squirrel family. But it was hard to believe. "What is this
school?" he finally asked.
Peter hastened to tell him. He told Johnny all about what he and
Jumper the Hare had learned about their family, and all the
surprising things Old Mother Nature had told them about the
Squirrel family, and he ended by again urging Johnny Chuck to
join the school and promised to call for Johnny the next morning.
But Johnny Chuck is lazy and does not like to go far from his own
doorstep, so when Peter called the next morning Johnny refused to
go, despite all Peter could say. Peter didn't waste much time
arguing for he was afraid he would be late and miss something.
When he reached the Green Forest he found his cousin, Jumper the
Hare, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and Happy Jack the Gray
Squirrel, already there. As soon as Peter arrived Old Mother
Nature began the morning lesson.
Happy Jack," said she, "you may tell us all you know about your
cousin, Chatterer."
"To begin with, he is the smallest of the Tree Squirrels," said
Happy Jack. "He isn't so very much bigger than Striped Chipmunk,
and that means that he is less than half as big as myself. His
coat is red and his waistcoat white; his tail is about two-thirds
as long as his body and flat but not very broad. Personally, I
don't think it is much of a tail."
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