Wild animals asleep fall into graceful attitudes. The fox curls himself
up with all the luxurious air of a cat; he rests his head in the lap
of two front pads, then twines his brush neatly round over his long,
pointed nose. He is a light sleeper; but hares and rabbits are still
more easily roused. We believe hares sleep with their eyes wide open;
the uncapped lenses of the eyes remain active through sleep, so that
any vision of danger conveys an automatic alarm to the brain. People
are sometimes puzzled when, in open fields, they notice a dozen or
more hare forms or beds within a few yards of each other. They may
conclude that hares swarm in those fields. Probably the reason for the
many forms is that a hare likes to face the wind when sleeping, and so
scratches out many beds to suit the wind's changing directions. Among
animals that sleep very soundly is the hedgehog--he has little to fear
when asleep; in case of danger, he has only to erect his spines, to
discourage effectively any disturber of his dreams. While hedgehogs,
dormice, and badgers sleep deeply through the greater part of the
winter, the squirrel is the lightest of sleepers; on dry, bright winter
days he enjoys a frolic in the snow.
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