CHAPTEE LXII 



THE EABMER'S HELPERS 

 (Contbrwed) 



TT^HE hedge-hog's diet consists especially of in- 

 A sects. The lowest order of vermin is disdained 

 by him as too small, but a June-bug larva or a fat- 

 bellied cricket is a capital prize, and when these are 

 not too deeply buried he burrows with claws and 

 snout to unearth them. All night long he goes 

 prowling around, routing out and crunching a goodly 

 number of our enemies, without doing any appre- 

 ciable harm himself. 



"Listen now to what I am going to relate to you 

 from the book of a learned observer. 'I had in a 

 box,' he says, 'a female hedge-hog with her sucklings; 

 and I added to the occupants of the box a vigorous 

 viper, which coiled itself up in one corner. The 

 hedge-hog slowly approached and smelt of the rep- 

 tile, whereupon the latter raised its head and put 

 itself on guard, showing the while its venomous 

 fangs. For a moment the aggressor recoiled, but 

 only to resume the offensive immediately after and 

 with no sign of fear. The viper then bit the animal 

 on the end of its snout. The hedge-hog licked its 

 bleeding wound, and in doing so received a second 

 bite on the tongue without suffering itself to be at 



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