The shrews get around very fast, considering their size; and they're on the go all the time. I never saw such busy-bodies; nosing about in the old leaves and dead grass and under logs and boring into loose loam, punky wood, decayed stumps—anywhere you'd be likely to find a worm, a grub, a beetle, or a slug. Hard workers, these shrews, but so quarrelsome! When two Mr. Shrews meet there's pretty sure to be trouble. They're regular little swashbucklers among themselves; and—the queerest thing, until you know why—they don't seem to be afraid even of cats. Fancy telling Cousin Mouse that! But it isn't because the shrews wouldn't be afraid if the cats got after them, but because cats always let shrews alone. They don't taste good!
THE CILIATED SHREW
Shrews are so nimble on their tiny feet and so quick of hearing, they are very hard to catch. And please don't try! You simply can't tame them, and in spite of the fact they're so fierce and bold at home—among their own kind—they're easily frightened to death. A shock of fear and that wonderful little heart engine of theirs stops short—never to go again.
[MR. MOLE'S PAWS AND HOW HE WORKS THEM]
But while the shrews can get around so much faster above ground the moles are the most remarkable travellers under ground. The mole's paws, you notice, are turned outward, as one's hands are when swimming. In fact he does almost swim through the soft, loose soil—so fast does he move along! His two shovels, with the muscles that work them, weigh as much as all the rest of his body. Why, he has a chest like an athlete! He pierces the soil with his muzzle and then clears it away with his paws. His skull is shaped like a wedge. He has a strong, boring snout and a smooth, round body.
This snout, by the way, has a bone near the tip. You see how handy that would come in, don't you? At the same time, although it's so hard—this snout of his—it's very sensitive, like the fingers of the blind; for Mr. Mole must always be feeling his way along in the dark, you know.
