250 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



semi-dark place: the oval opening will dilate to a 

 circle and this circle will grow larger as the light 

 diminishes. 



"Thanks to these pupils, which open very wide 

 and can thus still manage to receive a little light 

 where for others it would be pitch-dark, the cat 

 guides itself in the dark and hunts at night even 

 better than in broad daylight, since it remains in- 

 visible to the mice while it can see them well enough. 

 Nevertheless, if there were no light, if the darkness 

 were absolute, the cat could not see anything. In 

 this connection, recall what we were saying a while 

 ago about nocturnal birds of prey. Some maintain 

 that a cat sees distinctly in complete darkness; I 

 have shown you, on the contrary, that for every ani- 

 mal without exception sight becomes impossible as 

 soon as there ceases to be even the faintest ray of 

 light. " 



"The cat cannot see without some light, I have n't 

 the slightest doubt," assented Jules. "But all the 

 same I have known it to hunt in places where not a 

 glimmer of light could get in." 



"Then its mustaches served to guide it; these are 

 frequently made use of by the cat when it cannot 

 see." 



"Mustaches!" Emile exclaimed. "Oh, what a 

 queer guide! And how can those long hairs that 

 stand out on its lip tell it where it is 1 " 



"Perhaps you think the cat wears mustaches sim- 

 ply as a bit of swagger. Undeceive yourself: they 

 are a valuable item of its equipment for hunting by 



