15. "It is very amusing to see them search the pockets of those they know: diving into them, sniffing at every portion, and climbing out in search of another. 16. "They will not come at the call of a stranger, nor play any of their tricks with him; but they will allow themselves to be stroked and patted, and they never try to bite." LESSON XXXIV. _ABOUT RABBITS._ [Illustration] 1. We here come to the rabbit, one of our innocent and harmless friends that is a great pet with children. It is very timid and easily scared, but when treated kindly it becomes tame. 2. The rabbit is about the size of a cat, and has a short tail. The wild gray rabbit is not so large as the tame rabbit which we have about the house. 3. The rabbit has sharp gnawing-teeth like the rat and mouse, and it gets its food and eats it in the same way. 4. It eats the leaves and stalks of plants, and is very fond of cabbage, lettuce, and the tender leaves of beets and turnips. It sometimes does much damage by gnawing the bark of young fruit-trees. 5. It has whiskers like the cat, so that it can crawl into holes without making a noise. 6. Its fore feet are armed with strong, blunt claws. It can not climb, but it is able to dig holes in the earth. 7. Our wild rabbit lives in the grass, or in holes which it finds in stumps and hollow trees, and among stones; but the English rabbit digs a hole in the soft ground for its home. 8. The holes that the rabbits dig are called _burrows_; and where a great many rabbits have burrows close together, the place where they live is called a _warren_. 9. The burrows have two or more doors, so that if a weasel or some other enemy goes in at one door, the rabbit runs out at the other. In a warren, many burrows open into one another, forming quite a village under ground. 10. The rabbits choose a sandy place for a warren, near a bank, where they can dig easily, and where the water will run off. In these homes they sleep most of the time during the day, and come out by night to feed on such plants as they can find. When wild, the dew gives them drink enough; but when fed with dry grain food, they need water. LESSON XXXV. _MORE ABOUT RABBITS._ [Illustration] 1. The rabbit has large ears, and can hear the slightest sound. When feeding or listening, the ears stand up or lean forward; but when running, the ears lie back on its neck. 2. When the rabbit hears any sound to alarm it, it never stops to see what is the matter, but scuds away to its hole, plunges in, and waits there until it thinks the danger has passed away. 3. Then it comes to the mouth of the burrow, and puts out its long ears. If it does not hear anything, it raises its head a little more, and peeps out. Then, if it does not see anything out of the way, it comes out again and begins to feed.