The boy told me that the worm “had no feelings.” A worm can feel. The sense of touch is the best sense it has. Put your finger on its body, and see it move and shrink.
If the worm can hear, the organs that serve for ears have not yet been found. It crawls up as you come near, and pokes its head out of its hole and wags it to and fro. It has felt the jar of your steps.
The worm cannot see. Creatures that live under ground have but little use for eyes. Fishes that live in dark cave-rivers have no eyes. If the worm moves from the light and hides from it, it is because it feels the action of light on its skin. It does not see the light.
What does Mr. Worm eat? Some tell you that he eats dirt. It is true that he fills his body full of earth. That is to carry it to the top of the ground. Mr. Crab has claws and legs to bend into the shape of a basket. Poor Mr. Worm has no arms, legs, or claws, so he must make a basket of himself.
Suppose you should be sent for fruit, and turn yourself into a basket in that way! Your mamma might find fault. She would not wish you to act like a worm.
It is true that the worm may find a little food in the earth which he swallows. But the chief food of the worm is dead leaves and stems of plants. It does not care for fresh, live leaves and stems and roots.
The worm also likes meat,—fat, raw, or cooked. Worms will gnaw or suck the bodies of dead worms. We say worms gnaw. As they have no teeth, they do not really gnaw. They pinch off what they eat.
Worms like onions and cabbage best of all food. They need plenty of water, and must live in damp places. They soon die if they are put into water. They choke as a fish chokes if kept out in the air.
When the worm gets food into its mouth, the rings of its body begin to move out and in. They look as if they were opening and shutting. By this motion they press the food down into the body.
When the worm wants to move, it stretches out its body to its full length. Then it takes hold of the earth with its hooks. Next it draws up its body, and so moves on. This is a wave-like motion, you see. Watch it, and you will see that it travels with a motion like waves.