THE RAT. 
15 
THE RAT. 
1. ^^Look here, Will! Our dog Dash has 
caught a rat ! What a soft coat of gray fur it has ! 
And just look at its pretty clean feet, and its 
neat little claws." 
2. And what a long tail it has!" added Will. 
At that moment Mr. Lane came up to the two 
boys, and they showed him the rat. 
3. ''Its mouth is not quite shut," said Mr. 
Lane; ''so you can see its four long front teeth 
— two above and 
two below. They 
are curved, and 
have flat sharp 
edges like chisels. 
With them the rat 
used to gnaw its 
food, or bite its way through wood or other 
hard things. 
4. " As fast as these teeth were worn away at 
the edge, they grew up from the root, so that 
they were always of the right length." 
"Are there any other animals with teeth like 
those?" asked Jack. 
5. "Oh, yes!" replied Mr. Lane. "Mice, rab- 
bits, hares, and beavers, all belong to the family 
of gnawing animals." 
Skull of Common Kat (natural size). 
