THE HEDGEHOG 



not touched. The result was the same when 

 I tried the experiment again. All the same, 

 I can quite believe that if a hedgehog found out 

 eggs were good to ^at it would not waste its 

 chances when it came across any, yet it is 

 evident that by no means every one is an egg- 

 eater. Again, many people say that it is very 

 fond of little birds. Certainly I would not 

 like to trust one with a nestful of naked baby 

 willow wrens in front of it, but it would have 

 to be a very nimble urchin that could catch and 

 eat lively pheasant or partridge chicks. Like- 

 wise if it found some very young and helpless 

 rabbits in a hole it would hardly pass them by, 

 but as a rule the mother rabbit covers up the 

 mouth of the nursery with earth, padding and 

 stamping it down with her feet so that strangers 

 shall not get in while she is away, and by the 

 tirne the hedgehog meets the young rabbits 

 they can run many times faster than it. 

 Of course it must never be forgotten when 

 dealing with animals that they are just like us 

 — ^no two are exactly alike. One will do one 

 thing, one another. Some people are very 

 curious, and will do things their friends would 

 not dream of doing. It is the same with wild 

 creatures ; there are eccentric animals which do 



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