20 
WILD AMERICANS 
“But this doesn't look like a pig! I thought you 
said it would be a wild animal." 
"This is it. I didn't tell you all about him. I just 
told you that he has a shell. His shell is made of 
curved pieces, neatly fitted together, so that they can 
be folded. Whenever the animal sees or hears an 
enemy, he may decide to fold up inside his shell. 
Then he becomes a round ball, and here it is.' 
"Then the animal is inside, Uncle Ely?" 
"Yes. See this oval pointed piece of shell? This is 
his head. It fits neatly into a groove, made especially 
for it, with the hard shell outside. His feet and tail 
are folded in, too. The shell on his back is made of 
nine hoops or bands, joined together, with larger 
pieces for the front and rear. They have all been 
drawn together to make the ball. Isn't it odd?" 
"Yes, sir!” exclaimed Buck. "I never heard of any' 
thing like this." 
"I never did, either," said Ginger. 
They rolled the ball around, and it remained tight' 
ly closed. It could have been mistaken for a rock, or 
an old stump. The shell was dark brown and black. 
The children were greatly interested in it, but the 
animal refused to open his shell to let them see what 
he looked like inside. 
