Whoever is hit by
that tail will find himself full of those little spears and will
take care never to go near Prickly Porky again. Once those little
spears have entered the skin, they keep working in deeper and
deeper, and more than one of his enemies has been killed by them.
On account of those tiny barbs they are hard to pull out, and
pulling them out hurts dreadfully. Just try one and see."
But no one was anxious to try, so Old Mother Nature paused only a
moment. "You will notice that he moves that tail quickly," she
continued. "It is the only thing about him which is quick. When
he has a chance, in time of danger, he likes to get his head
under a log or rock, instead of putting it between his paws as he
is doing now. Then he plants his feet firmly and waits for a
chance to use that tail."
"Is it true that he can throw those little spears at folks?"
asked Peter.
Old Mother Nature shook her head. "There isn't a word of truth in
it," she declared. "That story probably was started by some one
who was hit by his tail, and it was done so quickly that the victim
didn't see the tail move and so thought the little spears were
thrown at him."
"How does he make all those little spears stand up that way?"
asked Jumper the Hare.
"He has a special set of muscles for just that purpose," explained
Old Mother Nature.
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