| THE SQUIRREL | |
“They sat on the branches with their bushy tails curvingover their backs” | [Frontispiece] |
| THE OPOSSUM | PAGE |
“In a few minutes another and another baby followedthe big brother and clung there on the mother’sfurry back” | [5] |
| THE MANATEE | |
“The old mother manatee held him close to her” | [19] |
| THE WHALE | |
“The old mother whale came tearing back to the rescue” | [39] |
| THE ELK | |
“Grazing over the upland meadows” | [48] |
| THE BEAVER | |
“Across the pond to feast in the woods” | [65] |
| THE RABBIT | |
“It was pleasant there in the underbrush of the woods” | [84] |
| THE FOX | |
“Now and then the fox stopped to listen” | [131] |
| THE WOLF | |
“It was the father wolf coming in” | [137] |
| THE MOLE | |
“The greedy young ones shoved and pushed and foughtas if they were starving” | [152] |
INTRODUCTION
This book tells the stories of some of the baby mammals of the wilderness,—how they grow and learn day by day to take care of themselves. In hollow trees or down under water among the lily leaves, in the cool sea or on the rugged mountains, on the grassy plains or among the waving tree-tops, in the dark caves and burrows or hidden in the tangles underfoot,—all the world is alive with young creatures.
Bright eyes glitter and small paws patter, little noses sniff the air and sharp ears twitch. There is a rustling of leaves above and a crackling of twigs below, a splashing in the swamp and a silent bending of the grasses. In the sunshine or the rain, in the daytime or at night, life is busy everywhere on this beautiful old earth.
All the mammals are alike in having hair on some part of their bodies, in having teeth at some time in their lives, and in feeding the young with milk. But there are many, many kinds of mammals, of different shapes and sizes and colors. There are all sorts of babies, from the tiny mouse that could sleep in an eggshell to the big baby whale, twice as long as an ox. Some can swim like fishes; others can fly like birds. Some dig homes under the ground; others make their nests in hollow trees or caves. Some live in the mountains and some on the plains. Some live in the woods and some in the sea. Some eat grass, and others eat flesh; some eat nuts, some eat fruit, and some eat anything they can find.
Many of the mammals are alike in some ways. Squirrels and mice have strong teeth to gnaw with; the cow and elk eat grass and chew a cud, and the bear, wolf, and fox eat flesh.
Those mammals that are most alike are said to belong to the same order. For example, every animal with hoofs belongs to the Order of Hoofed Mammals. Every animal with four gnawing teeth in the front of its mouth belongs to the Order of Gnawing Mammals. Every animal that lives on flesh belongs to the Order of Flesh-Eating Mammals.