“First, here is the picture of a wolf’s mouth. If one did not already know, one could easily guess the animal’s diet by merely looking at its teeth. Those deeply indented molars, those strong, curved canines—surely they call for wild prey and show great strength. The whole set indicates clearly enough a carnivorous appetite. At i are the incisors, six in number. They are small and of slight use, for the animal does not cut its prey into little mouthfuls, but swallows it gluttonously in great strips. At c are the canines, veritable daggers which the bandit plunges into the sheep’s neck. The little molars are at m. The large molars come next. The first, marked r, is the strongest, and it is with this that the wolf and the dog crack the hardest bones. Finally, the picture shows the salivary glands; that is, the organs that prepare the saliva and let it ooze into the mouth through the canal s as the animal eats. Without dwelling on this point, which would take me too far from my subject, I will merely say that saliva serves to soak the food and make a soft mouthful that can be easily swallowed, and it also plays an important part in the stomach in reducing to a fluid pap the food taken in; that is to say, it helps to digest the food. “Let us pass on to the cat, another typical flesh-eater. Six small incisors are ranged in the front of the jaw like a row of elegant but useless pearls. They are ornamental rather than useful to the animal. A mouse-hunter needs very long and pointed canines for piercing the prey seized by the claws. In this respect the cat is armed in a very formidable manner. What do you think of it, Louis?” “I think,” he replied, “a rat must be very uncomfortable between those curved canines the picture shows us.” “One day,” said Emile, “when I was pulling the cat’s mustache, she gave me a bite that felt like the sharp prick of a needle. It was done so quickly I had no time to draw my hand back.” “The cat brought her canines into play and wounded you with one of them as quickly as a steel point could have done.