_HOW THE HARE LIVES._
[Illustration]
1. The hare looks very much like a large rabbit. It has the same kind
of teeth, and eats the same kind of food. Its legs are longer than
those of the rabbit, and it runs in the same way, only faster.
2. It does not burrow in the ground nor crawl into holes, but it makes
its home in tufts of long grass. As it lies in the same place for a
long time, it makes a little hollow, which is called its _form_.
3. It has larger ears than the rabbit, and seems always listening. It
is very timid, and, when it hears any strange sound, away it goes like
the wind, running with long leaps.
4. When at rest in its form, it folds its legs under its body, lays
its ears back flat on its neck; and, as it is of the color of dried
grass, a person may pass by within a few feet of it and not see it.
5. Its upper lip is divided in the middle, as is also that of the
rabbit. It sometimes will fight, and then it hits hard blows with its
fore feet, and strikes so fast that its blows sound like the roll of a
drum.
6. When the snow falls, the hare sits in its form, and is covered up.
But its fur keeps it warm, and the heat of its body melts the snow
next to its skin, so that it sits in a kind of snow-cave, the snow
keeping off the cold wind.
7. When dogs chase a hare, it runs very fast until the dogs are close
to it, when it stops suddenly. This it can do, as it runs by leaping
with its long hind legs.
8. The dogs can not stop so quickly, and run past. The hare then
starts off in another direction, or _doubles_, as we say, and so gains
upon the dog. In this way it often escapes, and then it goes back to
its form.
9. The hare is sometimes tamed, and it soon learns to know its
friends; but it is a troublesome pet, as it gnaws the legs of the
chairs and tables, and destroys the trees in the yard by gnawing off
the bark near the roots.
_ALICE'S BUNNY._
Would you hear about my bunny,
All his little ways so funny?
First of all, then, you must know,
He has coat as white as snow,
Staring eyes of pink so pale,
And a tiny, dumpy tail.
Once, he had a pretty mate,
But she met a cruel fate.
Now quite by himself he stays,
And contented spends his days.
He runs about the nursery floor,
The chairs and table clambers o'er,
And nestles down upon my lap
Beside the cat, to take a nap;
And once, when I was in disgrace,
He licked the tear-drops from my face.
Now, don't you think my little bunny
Must be kind as well as funny?