TOADS, BATS AND OWLS 103 



day. Their nest is in a hollow tree, but they often 

 sleep upon a branch outside the nest where it is 

 shaded from the hght. When dusk comes they slowly 

 wake up and then begins their night work. With 

 their great eyes wide open they can see anything that 

 moves, and with swift and noiseless flight they pounce 

 upon the unsuspecting mouse or mole. 



How do you suppose they ever see from their 

 perches in the trees, a small gray mouse stealing along 

 over the ground on a dark night, or the dirt-colored 

 mole that lives mostly underground and comes up 

 only for a short time? 



Dogs hunt at night, but they run along the ground 

 and their sense of smell is so keen that they can fol- 

 low their game by the scent. But the owls see their 

 prey, even the mouse and the mole, the color of both 

 of which is so like the soft gray night. 



The cat has eyes like the owl's, so it, too, can see 

 quite clearly when it seems very dark to us. The 

 pupils of their eyes are so large that they receive 

 rays of light that never could reach our eyes. We 

 have to feel our way very carefully on a dark night, 

 but they can not only see where they are going 

 quite well but they also see those small, soft gray 

 animals. 



The cat will creep noiselessly along, and then 

 pounce upon the mouse, catching it every time. 

 Her feet seem shod with velvet and her fur is very 

 soft, so she slips along too quietly for even the timid 

 mouse to hear her. 



Just so with the owl. He has no velvet shoes on 

 his feet, but he does not need them for he goes 



