214 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
of living, and hard-heartedly drives them 
away.” As she will have four or five more 
litters, all equally large, before the summer 
is over, we can easily understand that she has 
not much time to spend over the nursing and 
education of each set of babies. 
In many of the larger mammals the time the 
young take to develop within the mother and 
the time of their helplessness after birth are 
very long, and it is among these that we find 
parental affection at its best. It is not merely 
mother-love—the mouse has that, though only 
for a short time. Both parents show affection 
for their children, and their common care for 
them has often led to lasting affection for each 
other. The lion hunts along with his mate dur- 
ing the breeding-season, but, as soon as she be- 
comes unable to accompany him, he hunts for 
her, bringing his kill to the den, and letting 
her satisfy her hunger before he takes his own 
meal. From the time the cubs are weaned until 
they are able to hunt for themselves he kills 
for them too, and when they are able to go out, 
which is not till they are almost a year old, 
both parents go with them to teach them their 
business in life. Both, but especially the lioness, 
will defend the cubs fiercely from any danger, 
