The winners in life's race : $b Or, the great backboned familyBuckley, Arabella B. (Arabella Burton)
Science
The winners in life's race : $b Or, the great backboned family
Buckley, Arabella B. (Arabella Burton)
Animals -- Juvenile literature; Vertebrates -- Juvenile literature
And now, does it not seem strange that from a family so fierce and
bloodthirsty as the wolf family, our own true, faithful, large-hearted
dog should have sprung? But do not let us be too hasty. Remember that
this hunting and killing is not for pleasure but for daily bread, and
that the wolf and jackal at home are good, tender, and loving parents;
and, moreover, that they have both of them been tamed, and shown great
affection to man.
Surely we wrong the animals when we call bad men “brutes,” for men love
and forget, but a dog will die on his master’s grave, and a tame wolf,
whose mistress went away, pined and grieved till she returned, when,
on hearing her footstep, he bounded to meet her, and springing up upon
her, fell back dead,--his faithful heart had burst with the shock of
joy.
And then, also, we must remember that the family of the wolf is the
only one among the carnivora in which the animals hunt in packs, so
as to learn sociable habits and to obey the will of others. And here,
perhaps, we have the reason why, though we have tamed the cat and
brought her to our homes, she still remains half-defiant, and can never
be taught to work for man; while the dog, on the contrary, has become
our obedient servant, and will tend our sheep, guard our homes, and
defend our lives.
[Illustration: Fig. 76.
The Tiger.
Showing slim body, muscular thighs, strong front legs and paws, and
short face with large teeth, all with sharp edges, especially one
(_the carnassial_), near the back in both jaws.]
Loving, and affectionate indeed, as she is, yet the cat will probably
never entirely lose the free untamable spirit of her tribe, for if we
search the whole world over we shall not find a creature better fitted
for a hunter of prey than the wild cat, the lion, or the tiger. Gentle
and loving at home with the wife and little ones, patting with soft
paws in which the claws are hidden, and doing no harm to any one till
food is needed, yet when they are once out on the chase we see that
every part of their structure is of use in approaching and overcoming
their victims.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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