"
When all had arrived Old Mother Nature began the morning lesson at
once. "You have learned about all the families in the order of
Rodents," said she, "so now we will take up another and much smaller
order called Insectivora. I wonder if any of you can guess what
that means." "It sounds," said Peter Rabbit, "as if it must have
something to do with insects."
"That is a very good guess, Peter," replied Old Mother Nature,
smiling at him. "It does have to do with insects. The members
of this order live very largely on insects and worms, and the name
Insectivora means insect-eating. There are two families in this
order, the Shrew family and the Mole family."
"Then Teeny Weeny and Miner the Mole must be related," spoke
Peter quickly.
"Right again, Peter," was the prompt reply. "The Shrews and the
Moles are related in the same way that you and Happy Jack Squirrel
are related."
"And isn't Teeny Weeny the Shrew related to the Mice at all?"
asked Happy Jack.
"Not at all," said Old Mother Nature. "Many people think he is
and often he is called Shrew Mouse. But this is a great mistake.
It is the result of ignorance. It seems strange to me that people
so often know so little about their near neighbors." She looked
at Happy Jack Squirrel as she said this, and Happy Jack looked
sheepish. He felt just as he looked.
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