Animal Alphabet, N through T

 Some call the NEWT 
A savage brute,
And say we should avoid him.
But I've not seen
Him very mean,
Unless some one annoyed him.

 

The OYSTER'S brain
Weighs but a grain;
He's ignorant, and yet
He's very kind,
And you will find
He makes a lovely pet.

I would suggest

You don't molest

The prickly PORCUPINE.

His quills might be

Quite nice to see -

They do not feel so fine.

The mountain QUAIL

Likes snow and hail

And chilly weather most.

He's very good

Out in the wood;

He's better upon toast.

RHINOCEROS

Looks cross to us,

And rather loose and lumpy;

But I suppose

A horny nose

Would make us grim and grumpy.

The SNAIL, you know,

Is very slow;

He doesn't dare to roam

Without his shack

Upon his back,

So he'll always be at home.

The TIGER knows

A lot of foes;

'Most all the creatures fear him.

I you should meet

Him in the street,

You'd best not linger near him.

1rst and 2nd and 3rd and 4th pages

Tiger, Tiger

 Tiger, Tiger 
by William Blake and
The last verse interpolated by J. M.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Shaped thy fearful symmetry?

 

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And, when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? What dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And water'd heaven with their tears,

Did He smile His work to see?

Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Who can say? Which of us can

Comprehend His mighty plan?

Therefore let us rest content

Knowing Good is God's intent.

The Reckless Tiger

The Bengal tiger running.

       The  Tiger  hunt  is  the  royal  sport  of  India,  because  it  is  attended  with greater  danger  than  any  other  kind  of  hunting  in  the  world.  Books  could  be filled  with  stories  of  the  tigers  ferocity  and  recklessness,  its  wild  charges  upon elephants  and  horses  of  the  hunting-party  and  its  violent  struggles  to  get  away, once  it  has  been  cornered  by  its  foes.  There  is  an  old  saying  which  says: " You  are  never  sure  of  a  tiger  until  he  is  dead,  and  not  always  then."  The striped  skin  of  the  tiger  is  of  great  use  to  him  as  a  protection,  just  as  much  as the  brown  fur  of  the  lion  helps  it  to  hide  among  the  sand-hills  and  rocks. The  tiger  haunts  the  thickest  jungle,  and  its  brilliant  yellow  and  black  striped skin  harmonizes  splendidly  with  the  reeds  and  grasses  in  the  fierce  lights  and shadows  of  the  Indian  day.

       Much  is  written  of  the  man-eating  tiger  by  people  who  do  not  realize  that it  is  only  the  lame  or  aged  beast,  unable  any  longer  to  pull  down  a  buck, that  attacks  man.     When  the  tiger  has  once  tasted  human  blood  it  becomes a  confirmed  man-hunter,  and  holds  the  country  round  in  terror.  The  women no  longer  dare  go  into  the  fields  along,  and  even  the  men  travel  from  place  to place  in  well-armed  parties  of  three  and  four.

       Nothing  is  more  wonderful  about  the  tiger  than  its  ability,  in  spite  of  its enormous  size,  to  move  quietly  over  twigs  and  leaves.  A  good  illustration of  this,  and  its  sneaking  habits,  is  the  following  story:

       A  hunter  decided  to  watch  the  ford  of  a  stream  where  a  tiger  had  been  in the  habit  of  coming  down  to  drink.  He  posted  an  armed  native  on  the  opposite side,  and  then  hid  himself.  After  several  hours  of  watching,  during  which time  he  saw  nothing  of  the  tiger,  he  called  to  his  companion.  The  man  did not  answer  and  the  hunter  became  alarmed.  There  was  an  uncanny  stillness in  the  air.  He  hastened  across,  and  there  he  saw  the  footprints  of  a  huge tiger  just  behind  where  the  man  had  been  standing.  He  followed  up  the tiger's  trail,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away  he  fell  over  the native's  body.  He  was  quite  dead,  with  a  clawed  and  broken  neck.  Although the  hunter  was  only  a  short  distance  off,  he  had  heard  nothing  of the  tiger's  approach.

       Two  ladies  left  their  bungalow  one  evening,  and  walked  to  the  top  of  a hill  to  view  the  sunset.  While  they  were  returning,  a  full-grown  tiger stepped  out  into  the  road.  One  lady,  in  her  terror,  suddenly  opened  her  red sun-shade.  The  unusual  sight  startled  the  tiger,  who  bounded  into  the  jungle once  more.

       This  story  only  goes  to  show  that  the  fiercest  animals  in  the  world  can  be frightened  by  simple  objects  which  they  do  not  understand.  All  the  cat  tribe are  cautious,  and  will  never  approach  anything  that  looks  to  them  suspicious.

       Another  story  is  told  of  an  Indian  officer,  who  had  to  pass  through  a lonely  piece  of  road  near  a  jungle,  while  going  to  visit  some  friends.  He  was riding  a  bicycle.  Suddenly  a  large  tiger  sprang  out  behind  him,  and  followed him  with  much  the  same  gait  that  a  cat  uses  when  crossing  the  street.  Strain. as  hard  as  he  could,  the  rider  was  unable  to  increase  his  lead  on  the  tiger, who  seemed  not  to  be  making  the  least  effort.  Near  the  end  of  the  road  a number  of  officers  were  waiting  for  the  expected  guest,  and  were  astonished at  the  speed  he  was  making.  When  they  saw  the  tiger  behind  him  they rushed  for  their  guns.  At  the  same  time  the  tiger  seemed  to  think  that  he had  come  far  enough,  and,  uttering  a  loud  roar,  gave  three  huge springs, which  brought  him  up  with  his  victim,  and  down  went  tiger,  bicycle,  and  rider, in  a  heap.  A  lucky  shot  finished  the  tiger,  and  the  officer  escaped  with  a torn  scalp  and  a  broken  arm.

 

Tigers hunted by men riding elephants.

• What does functionally extinct mean?
• Color a stained glass page featuring a tiger.
• Tigers are orange and so are these things

 

Paper tiger toy with joints can move if parts are reconnected with brads.

Thirty Feet! How Many Do You Know?

       Just as a good shoemaker makes shoes to fit the feet, nature make feet to fit the needs of each individual animal. How many of these feet could you name? They are, from left to right, top to bottom: Horse, Elephant, Eagle, Ostrich, Camel; second row - Chimpanzee, Tiger, Duck, Water Shrew, Lizard, Tiger, Beetle; third row - Sloth, Bear, Locust, Flamingo, Duck-billed Platypus, Crab: fourth row- Peccary, Garden Spider, Giraffe, Frog, Armadillo, Ox; and fifth row- Kangaroo, Box Turtle, Squirrel, Iguana, Harvest Mouse, and Gecko.