94 COMMON BRITISH ANIMALS 



curiously sensitive, and that there is an extra joint 

 in it, but why is a blow on the nose fatal both to a 

 mole and a badger ? 



Shrews. ■ 



These useful and inoffensive little creatures are 

 first cousins of the mole. Like him they have long 

 noses and fur that turns either way. 



There are three kinds of British shrews, two of 

 which are fairly common, while the third, the water 

 shrew, may be equally common, but is more difficult 

 to see. Nine people out of ten mistake these little 

 creatures for mice, and, indeed, they are often called 

 shrew mice, but they are not rodents at all. If they 

 are examined, their resemblance to their cousin the 

 mole is at once seen. The long, sharp, pink nose 

 and velvety fur distinguish them from mice, and if 

 the tiny mouth be opened, the characteristic gnawing 

 teeth of the mouse are found to be absent, and 

 instead you see eight tiny incisors with red tips in 

 the upper jaw and six in the lower. Beyond these 

 there are six teeth on each side in the upper jaw and 

 four in the lowei*. The tail is flat or four-sided, and 

 not cylindrical, especially in the water shrew, and 

 the ears, which are smaller than those of the mouse, 

 are capable of being folded over when the animal 

 goes underground or under the water. 



Shrews must formerly have been much better 

 known than they are now, for though innocent of all 

 harm, no animal has been more maligned and perse- 

 cuted by superstition, and not in our own country 



