12 LITTLE FOLKS 
But then he steals our food, did you say ? 
Well, that's only because he must have something to eat. 
Besides I don't believe he was ever taught any better. In fact, I 
wouldn't be surprised if he thought men were made on purpose to 
collect food for him. 
Then he gnaws holes in our walls. 
That's true, and it's very troublesome to us ; but when you 
know the whole truth about this gnawing business, I think you'll 
be sorry for him. 
You see, the rat's teeth are very singular things. In the first 
place, they are shaped like a wedge ; the inside of them is soft and 
easily worn off, while the outside is very hard enamel. But the 
strangest thing is that they grow all the time. If you should feed 
him as much as he could eat, he would still have to gnaw some- 
thing hard to keep his teeth worn off. If he didn't, they would 
grow up into the mouth above and kill him at last. 
Rats have been found who had lost one tooth. The tooth op- 
posite, having nothing to gnaw against, had grown out to a fearful 
length. In case of a lower one, it grew up into his skull. One 
that I read of (an upper tooth) was gradually pressed out till it 
fairly grew into the shape of a ring, sticking out of his mouth. 
Did you ever know of a tame rat ? If you went to Siam, 
you'd see plenty of them. They're fed and petted as you pet your 
kitten, lie by the fire, and jump into your lap like a cat or dog. 
They grow very large, and keep the house clear of their unfortu- 
nate wild relatives. 
I've heard too of another one that was tamed by a stage-driver. 
His business was to guard his master's dinner-basket, which was 
carried in the stage. 
You needn't think this brown baby is a nobody. He has his 
history, as well as you. We don't know what legends the old gray 
rats tell to the young ones in the long winter evenings ; but we do 
know what men tell about them. 
It seems that, once upon a time, a great tribe of rats lived in 
Persia, in roomy houses, which they made underground. There 
they might have stayed to this day but for an earthquake, a hun- 
dred or two years ago. Feeling that their home was no longer safe, 
they decided to emigrate. They started west, like other emigrants, 
swam rivers, and came to settle in Europe. The people there did 
not like them, I suppose, any better than the buffalo likes those 
