Domestic Animals 143 



"She wears a dress that is smooth and glossy, and 

 often it is beautifully colored. As for her children, 

 why, she usually has a dozen or more babies, all of 

 the same size and all looking much alike. Fortu- 

 nately they don't require as much care as our home 

 babies; the mother never stops to wash and dress 

 them. Oh, no, indeed! She just opens her mouth, 

 says 'Quack, quack' (deftly rolling up a curtain that 

 covered a section of the board and revealing a draw- 

 ing of ducks), and here you see the whole family out 

 for a morning plunge. 



"Notice the feet," continued the teacher; "they 

 look somewhat like hen's feet, but the three front 

 toes are joined together with thick skin, while the 

 back one is smaller and free. A foot of this kind 

 is called a web foot. 



"Ducks are fine swimmers; even the babies, as 

 soon as they are out of the shell, rush for the water 

 and swim off as easily as the mother, without one 

 lesson. They use their feet as paddles. 



"Notice a duck's bill; here is one I have drawn 

 large. See! it is broad and flat, with holes here for 

 the ducks to breathe through the nose. The whole 

 bill is covered with a tender skin. If you watch a 



