NEZ long's menagerie 181 



by e.'iting mice and nuisance animals, as well as grass- 

 hoppers and other insects." 



"I never heard of Skunk fur when I lived in the 

 city," said Nat. 



'' No, hut you have heard of Alaska Sable, which is 

 the name it uses when it puts away its evil odor and 

 goes in polite society." 



" You called this one the Common Skunk. Are there 

 any uncommon ones?" asked Rap. 



'' There are quite a number of species, but they are 

 all common somewhere. The oddest of all is the Little 

 Striped Skunk who lives in the more southern parts of 

 the country, from Florida across to the Plains. He is a 

 weasel-shaped little piece of impudence, with a white 

 spot on his forehead, all the rest of his body and tail 

 plume being so striped that you can never say if he is 

 black and white or white and black, or both ; he might 

 be a toy animal made of strips of black and white flan- 

 nel. Black and white is a rare combination for the coat 

 of a fourfoot. None of our f ourf oots are bright-colored, 

 and tliere are very few such in any country. Usually 

 the color of an animal is arranged to blend with his 

 surroundings and protect him from his enemies. Some- 

 times, however. Nature wishes to give an animal a strik- 

 ing coat that will be seen by others and warn them to 

 keep away from him, and the Skunks wear coats of this 

 kind. They prowl about chiefly at dusk or after dark. 

 Have you ever noticed how clearly anything white, 

 however small, shows at night?" 



'' Oh, yes, I have often," said Rap. '' In spring when 

 all the snow has gone, except little bits under the fences, 

 you can see it ever so far away, and sometimes when 



