WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



the big claws of his fore feet, and, as I have 

 already said, he hated worms to squirm over 

 him and slime his fur. 



The mole in question was not only particular 

 about his coat but also about his bed ; indeed a 

 good warm nest is necessary, or a mole will not 

 live long. He had a quantity of leaves and 

 grass scattered about the cage, and his method 

 of making up his bed was to gather a few dry 

 leaves together, then sit on them and pull all 

 within reach around him. Gradually a pile 

 was built up, from which his pink nose would 

 keep peeping out first here and then there, 

 each time pulling in another leaf and adding 

 it to the pile. He never used his paws to shape 

 the nest, but pushed and prodded with his 

 nose, turning and twisting until it was neat, 

 round, and well shaped. When leaves, which 

 he much preferred to grass, could not be reached 

 by stretching out of the nest, he would leave it 

 and run across the cage, his scrap of a tail 

 sticking up impudently, and snatch a leaf, 

 carrying it home with his head high in the air. 

 In the warm and comfortable bed thus made he 

 would sleep for about an hour at a time, 

 curled up into a velvet ball, and sometimes 

 snoring with queer squeaky grunts ! 



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