'THIS COMES HOPPING^ 



11 



is precisely where the difficulty comes in. Nobody 

 seems to know exactly how big the Ark was, though 

 I am told that the measurements are given, or how 

 many animals it would hold. 



The idea which is now generally prevalent in the 

 highest scientific circles, to which, of course, I 

 belong, is that there were two animals called 

 * rodents,' with long front teeth set close together, 

 just like the pictures which Frenchmen draw of 

 Englishmen Avhen they want to be rude. These 

 two rodents no doubt lived behind the wainscot, in 

 order to save room, or somewhere up in the roof, 

 and the other animals tried to kill them, and Noah 

 set traps for them, but they were not such fools as 

 to be caught. And when at last the Ark landed, 

 and all the creatures came out, Mr. and Mrs. 

 Rodent spread themselves out, so to speak, and 

 became not only rats, but mice, and beavers, and 

 porcupines, and squirrels, and rabbits, and a whole 

 tribe of similar animals. The beavers, of course, say 

 that they went in, and became rats and other 

 things, and so say all the other members of the 

 family, I suppose. But I have no doubt in my own 

 mind that the place of honour in that well-built 

 ship was occupied by two fine rats. 



But there is a much more important subject of 



