HOMES OF THE ANIMALS.
Every animal lives where it can get the kind of food that it likes. Some animals stay near the same place the whole of their lives. They either store up food for the winter, or go to sleep in some protected place, and never wake until spring.
Other animals never have a home. They wander here and there in search of food. When winter comes they seek a warmer climate; in spring they return toward their summer feeding grounds.
Among the animals that never have permanent homes are the wild horses. They wander in bands wherever there is grass and water; in winter they dig the snow away with their feet, and in this way reach the grass.
The little colts do not need a shelter. They can run and play when they are only two or three days old. Their mother is strong and watchful and can protect them from the coyotes and mountain lions.
The squirrel has a snug home in a hollow tree. In this he stores a supply of nuts for the winter. The little squirrels need protection and they are safe within the tree. If the supply of nuts is short they go to sleep until spring.
You have all seen the cozy nest of the mouse. The young mice are blind and helpless.' They could not live without the protection of the soft nest so cunningly hidden away. Kittens and puppies also need a snug home for many days.
Some of the homes are so strange! The wood rat gathers a great pile of twigs under which his nest is made. The trap door spider lives in a little tube in the ground. The tube is about six inches long and has a trap door at the upper end. The door is strong and hinged, so that when the spider goes home it will shut out the rain, and protect him from his enemies.
The ants build homes underground. They seem busy all of the time. The dirt which they take from the underground passage ways is piled neatly around the door.
You will find the hermit crab among the rocks at low tide. He carries his home on his back. The home is not his own, but one he has stolen.
When he is in need of a new house he finds an empty turban shell or a periwinkle and crawls into it. If it fits, he stays there. How funny he looks as he runs around with the clumsy shell upon his back.
Each kind.of bird makes a different nest. The eagle's nest is a rude, coarse home for the little ones, but the humming bird's is of softest down.
When the little birds grow up they build nests just like those they were hatched in. The mother birds teach them in some way so that they never forget.