204 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. 



being able to bear it any longer, she converted her paw 

 into an extinguisher, and then quietly took up her 

 abode on the old lady's pillow by her side. 



A singular malformation in the cat has been per- 

 petuated, till a race of tailless cats is now in existence, 

 and which is certainly no improvement on the original 

 stock ; for nothing can be more graceful than the atti- 

 tudes of the cat's tail, or more expressive of its feelings 

 of joy or anger. 



SQUIRRELS. 



A PECULIAR formation of the incisors, or front teeth, 

 groups a number of smaller animals together under the 

 name of Rodentia, from the Latin word rodens, which 

 signifies gnawing. These teeth act as files, so that the 

 food on which their owners principally live is reduced 

 by friction to a state which fits it for digestion. As 

 the edges of these teeth become worn by constant use, 

 they incessantly grow from the root. If one be broken, 

 that opposite to it, in the other jaw, being deprived of 

 its habitual wear and tear, grows so fast that it not 

 only annoys its owner, but has caused his destruction 

 by effectually closing the mouth. Their lower jaws can 

 only move backwards and forwards. Some exclusively 

 eat vegetables, others eat all things, and others again 

 prefer flesh. Some carry their food to their mouths 

 with their paws, and climb trees ; and in many the 

 hinder limbs are so much longer than those in front, 

 that they leap instead of walk. They are widely and 

 numerously spread on the surface of the earth, and 

 therefore bear strongly on its history ; but it is not 



