He is a harmless
little fellow and interesting because he is so queer. He is
sometimes killed and eaten by man and his flesh is considered very
good. He has from four to eight babies in the early spring. The
baby Armadillo has a soft, tough skin instead of a shell, and as
it grows it hardens until by the time it is fully grown it has
become a shell.
"Now this finishes the lessons about the land animals or mammals.
There are other mammals who live in the ocean, which is the salt
water which surrounds the land, and which, I guess, none of you
have ever seen. Some of these come on shore and some never do.
To-morrow I will tell you just a little about them, so that you
will know something about all the animals of this great country
which is called North America. That is, I will if you want me to."
"We do! Of course we do!" cried Peter Rabbit, and it is plain that
he spoke for all.
CHAPTER XL The Mammals of the Sea
It was the last day of Old Mother Nature's school in the Green Forest,
and when jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun had climbed high enough in the
blue, blue sky to peep down through the trees, he found not one missing
of the little people who had been learning so much about themselves,
their relatives, neighbors and all the other animals in every part of
this great country. You see, not for anything in the world would one
of them willingly have missed that last lesson.
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