HATS AND ]\1I('E 



387 



water, and seems out of liis element when on land. He 

 prefers to attend to liis affairs at night, when tlie sun 

 cannot spy upon him, and he is sociable as well as shy, 

 preferring village life to solitude, so that many of the 

 domed winter houses, built of reeds, sticks, and mud, are 

 usually found near together. These homes are built 

 in sliallow water and are entered from below ; there is 



MUSKUAT. 



a comfortable living-room inside, just above the water 

 level, with many passages from it where the family can 

 hide in times of danger. The doorway being under 

 water, allows the Muskrat to go out in winter, when 

 the surface is frozen, and secure marsh roots and the 

 other vegetable food that he needs. So he does not 

 sleep the winter sleep, nor yet store up food like the 

 Beaver. 



