WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



and with their great strength heave and push 

 this accumulation up to the surface, but of 

 course it is difficult to be sure what is done 

 underground. 



Some grass and leaves had been put in the 

 tub, and by next day the mole had drawn 

 them together to make a comfortable bed, 

 wherein I could see her lying, curled up into 

 a ball of warm dark-grey velvet, which was 

 beautifully soft to the touch. When she felt 

 my finger she squeaked, rolled over on her 

 back, kicked, then righted herself, and ran 

 off down one of the tunnels she had made. 

 After a few days she got accustomed to being 

 poked and no longer squeaked at the touch of 

 the finger, but merely came out and looked for 

 worms. How fiercely she grabbed each one, bit- 

 ing it quickly from end to end so as to kill it and 

 stop it wriggling, after which she began to eat it 

 from one end, holding it down with her paws, and 

 chewing on until the last bit was gone. Some- 

 times she would drag her worms into the nest to 

 be eaten, and others were taken underground. 



A big mole, a male, that I watched and 



studied later, would, if he had more worms than 



he could eat, bite them until they were nearly 



killed, then bury them, just like a dog hiding 



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