22 
WILD AMERICANS 
rooting in the ground for bits to eat, as pigs do. The 
children watched them for several minutes, then 
Buck forgot and spoke aloud. “Gee, Id like to catch 
one! 1 ’ 
Rustle-rustle-rustle\ The family was gone! 
They didn’t curl into balls. They started running. 
Instantly Uncle Ely jumped out and gave chase. He 
crashed through the brush and leaves. In a moment, 
however, he called. 
“Here is a baby one! Come and see it.” The chib 
dren hastened to him. 
There, sure enough, was one of the babies, now 
curled into a ball no bigger than a large apple. Its 
shell was not hard to touch, as had been the shell on 
the grown animal. The baby’s shell was more like 
leather. 
“What became of the others?” Ginger asked. 
“Why didn’t they roll up?” 
“These animals have two ways to protect therm 
selves,” Uncle Ely explained. “They can run and 
hide, and they prefer to do that. Or they can quickly 
roll into balls. A few big animals, such as dogs and 
panthers, can tear into them, although it is hard to 
do. Most enemies cannot break through the shells, 
however.” 
