32 



FOUR-HANDED FOLK 



outside of them, holding his back highly arched 

 as he goes. He has also a curious manner of 

 standing erect on his hind legs for a better view 

 of things, using his broad tail to balance himself. 



A better known animal of ball-making habits 

 is the common hedgehog, of whose spine-covered, 

 impervious ball we have all read from childhood, 

 if we have not seen. He also, like the armadillo, 

 resorts to the spherical form in time of war. 

 When " having it out " with a venomous snake, 

 for instance, he will give a savage bite on the 

 back, and instantly retire behind or within his 

 sharp spines, which, projecting on all sides, 

 effectually keep the reptile at a safe distance. 

 After a time he will cautiously unroll and take 

 an observation, and, if the snake is off its guard, 

 give another sudden bite, and so on till he 

 breaks the back. In the same way he protects 

 himself from dogs, which are loath to attack the 

 spiny ball. 



Not only as a safeguard from enemies is this 

 accomplishment useful to the hedgehog, but as 

 a protection from other perils. Should he lose 

 his hold and fall from a height, even of twenty 

 feet, he instantly pulls himself together into a 

 ball, and reaches the ground unhurt. It is even 

 said that he often chooses that easy way, and 

 deliberately throws himself to the ground, rather 

 than take the trouble to climb. 



