334 NATURAL HISTORY READER. 



river, standing up to Iris neck in water, and crouched 

 down ; the pig got on his back, clasping his neck with his 

 fore legs. The* dog then swam across, thus carrying his 

 chum over. Regularly every morning the two would in 

 this way go across and forage around Tapuaeharuru, re- 

 turning to the pah at night ; and, if the dog was ready to 

 go home before the pig, he would wait till his friend came 

 down to be ferried over. The truth of this story is vouched 

 for by several who have watched the movements of the 

 pair for some weeks past." 



10. Frank Buckland relates : "A gentleman, traveling 

 through Mecklenburg, was witness to a very singular cir- 

 cumstance in a village post-house. After dinner the land- 

 lord placed on the floor a large dish of soup, and gave a 

 loud whistle. Immediately there came into the room a 

 mastiff, a fine Angora cat, an old raven, and a remarkably 

 large rat with a bell about its neck. They all four went 

 to the dish, and, without disturbing each other, fed together, 

 after which the dog, cat, and rat lay before the fire, while 

 the raven hopped about the room. The landlord, after ac- 

 counting for the familiarity which existed among these ani- 

 mals, informed his guest that the rat was the most useful 

 of the four, for the noise he made had completely freed the 

 house from the other rats and mice with which it had pre- 

 viously been infested." 



11. In 1822 some white rats were trapped in Colonel 

 Berkeley's stables. Mr. Samuel Moss, of Cheltenham, took 

 a fancy to a } r oungster, and determined to make a pet of 

 him. He was soon tamed, and christened Scugg. Then 

 he was formally introduced to a rat-killing terrier, a cere- 

 mony so well understood by Flora that she not only re- 

 frained from assaulting the new-comer, but actually consti- 

 tuted herself his protectress, mounting guard over Scugg 

 whenever a stranger came into the room, growling, snarl- 

 ing, and showing her teeth, until convinced he had no evil 



