The fact is, Old Mother Nature is rather
fond of Jimmy Skunk. "You aren't interrupting," said she. "The
fact is, we had just ended the lesson about Flitter the Bat and
his relatives, and were trying to decide who to study about next.
I think you came along at just the right time. You belong to a
large and rather important order, one that all these little folks
here ought to know about. How many cousins have you, Jimmy?"
Jimmy Skunk looked a little surprised at the question. He scratched
his head thoughtfully. "Let me see," said he, "I have several close
cousins in the Skunk branch of the family, but I presume you want to
know who my cousins are outside of the Skunk branch. They are
Shadow the Weasel, Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter. These are the
only ones I can think of now."
"How about Digger the Badger?" asked Old Mother Nature.
A look of surprise swept over Jimmy Skunk's face. "Digger the
Badger!" he exclaimed. "Digger the Badger is no cousin of mine!"
"Tut, tut, tut!" chided Old Mother Nature. "Tut, tut, tut, Jimmy
Skunk! It is high time you came to school. Digger the Badger is
just as much a cousin of yours as is Shadow the Weasel. You are
members of the same order and it is a rather large order. It is
called the Car-niv-o-ra, which means 'flesh-eating.' You are a
member of the Marten or Weasel family, and that family is called
the 'Mus-tel-i-dae.
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