A Cat is Nibbler's worst enemy. Nibbler
is slender and graceful, with a long, hairless tail and ears of
good size. He is very timid, ready to dart into his hole at the
least sound. He raises from four to nine babies at a time and
several sets of them in a year.
"If Mr. and Mrs. Nibbler are living in a house, their nest is made
of scraps of paper, cloth, wool and other soft things stolen from
the people who live in the house. In getting this material they
often do great damage. If they are living in a barn, they make
their nest of hay and any soft material they can find.
"While Nibbler prefers to live in or close to the homes of men,
he sometimes is driven out and then takes to the fields, especially
in summer. There he lives in all sorts of hiding places, and isn't
at all particular what the place is, if it promises safety and food
can be obtained close by. I'm sorry Nibbler ever came to this
country. Man brought him here and now he is here to stay and quite
as much at home as if he belonged here the way the rest of you do.
"This finishes the lessons on the order of Rodents, the animals
related by reason of having teeth for the purpose of gnawing. I
suspect these are the only ones in whom you take any interest, and
so you will not care to come to school any more. Am I right?"
"No, marm," answered Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, who, you remember,
had laughed at Peter Rabbit for wanting to go to school.
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