62 The Book of Cats. 



Prince asked for an explanation of this apparent 

 miracle. 



'* Your Royal Highness," said Fox, " chose, of 

 course, the shady side of the way as most agree- 

 able. I knew that the sunny side would be left for 

 me, and that Cats prefer the sunshine." 



Cats usually, but not always, fall on their feet, 

 because of the facility with which they balance 

 themselves when springing from a height, which 

 power of balancing is in some degree produced by 

 the flexibility of the heel, the bones of which have 

 no fewer than four joints. Cats alight softly on 

 their feet, because in the middle of the foot is a 

 large ball or pad in five parts, formed of an elastic 

 substance, and at the base of each toe is a similar 

 pad. No mechanism better calculated to break the 

 force of a fall could be imagined. 



A Cat, when falling with its head downwards, 

 curls its body, so that the back forms an arch, while 

 the legs remain extended. This so changes the posi- 

 tion of the centre of gravity, that the body makes 

 a half turn in the air, and the feet become lowest. 



In the inside of a Cat's head there is a sort of 

 partition /wall projecting from the sides, a good way 

 inwards, towards the centre, so as to prevent the 

 brain from suffering from concussion. 



