The Burgess Animal Book for ChildrenBurgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
General
The Burgess Animal Book for Children
Burgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
Animal behavior -- Juvenile literature; Zoology -- Juvenile literature
“From his throat hangs a hairy fold of skin called a bell. He has
a very short tail, so short that it is hardly noticeable. His legs
are very long and rather large. His hoofs are large and rounded,
more like those of Bossy the Cow than like those of Lightfoot the
Deer. Seen at a little distance in the woods, he looks to be almost
black, but really is for the most part dark brown. His legs are gray
on the inside.
“Flathorns lives in the great northern forests clear across the
country, and is especially fond of swampy places. He is fond of
the water and is a good swimmer. In summer he delights to feed
on the pads, stems and roots of water lilies, and his long legs
enable him to wade out to get them. For the most part his food
consists of leaves and tender twigs of young trees, such as
striped maple, aspen, birch, hemlock, alder and willow. His great
height enables him to reach the upper branches of young trees. When
they are too tall for this, he straddles them and bends or breaks
them down to get at the upper branches. His front teeth are big,
broad and sharp-edged. With these he strips the bark from the
larger branches. He also eats grass and moss. Because of his
long legs and short neck he finds it easiest to kneel when feeding
on the ground.
“Big as he is, he can steal through thick growth without making a
sound. He does not jump like other Deer, but travels at an awkward
trot which takes him over the ground very fast. In the winter
when snow is deep, the Moose family lives in a yard such as I told
you Lightfoot makes. The greatest enemy of Flathorns is the hunter,
and from being much hunted Flathorns has learned to make the most of
his ears, eyes and nose. He is very smart and not easily surprised.
When wounded he will sometimes attack man, and occasionally when not
wounded. Then he strikes with his sharp-edged front hoofs, and they
are terrible weapons. Altogether he is a wonderful animal, and it
is a matter for sorrow that man persists in hunting him merely to get
his wonderful head.
“In parts of these same northern forests lives another big member
of the Deer family, Wanderhoof the Woodland Caribou. He is bigger
than Lightfoot the Deer, but smaller than Bugler the Elk, rather
an awkward-looking fellow. His legs are quite long but stout. His
neck is rather short, and instead of carrying his head proudly as
does Lightfoot, he carries it stretched out before him or hanging
low. The hair on the lower part of his neck is long.
“Wanderhoof wears a coat of brown. His neck being much lighter or
almost gray. He has an undercoat which is very thick and woolly.
In winter his whole coat becomes grayish and his neck white. Above
each hoof is a band of white. His tail is very short, and white
on the under side. His antlers are wonderful, being very long and
both round and flat. That is, parts of them are round and parts
flattened. They have more prongs than those of any other Deer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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