their young from the "mammae" or the breasts of the mother. Wherefore modern

science calls these animals "mammals." They had shed the scales of the fish.

They did not adopt the feathers of the bird, but they covered their bodies with

hair. The mammals however developed other habits which gave their race a great

advantage over the other animals. The female of the species carried the eggs of

the young inside her body until they were hatched and while all other living

beings, up to that time, had left their children exposed to the dangers of cold

and heat, and the attacks of wild beasts, the mammals kept their young with them

for a long time and sheltered them while they were still too weak to fight their

enemies. In this way the young mammals were given a much better chance to

survive, because they learned many things from their mothers, as you will know

if you have ever watched a cat teaching her kittens to take care of themselves

and how to wash their faces and how to catch mice.

 

But of these mammals I need not tell you much for you know them well.

 

They surround you on all sides. They are your daily companions in the streets

and in your home, and you can see your less familiar cousins behind the bars of

the zoological garden.

 

And now we come to the parting of the ways when man suddenly leaves the endless

procession of dumbly living and dying creatures and begins to use his reason to

shape the destiny of his race.

 

One mammal in particular seemed to surpass all others in its ability to find