The animals of the Cat kind--lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars--are the most
beautiful as well as the most dangerous of this class. They have long and
sharp teeth, and very long claws--five on the forefeet and four on the
hinder-feet--and these claws are kept sharp by being guarded within a soft
sheath when not wanted; so that all these cat-like creatures tread very
softly.
You have often noticed how pussy can stretch out her claws when she wishes
to climb or to scratch, but you know they are most often hidden within this
velvet sheath. If you have ever watched your cat creeping cautiously nearer
and nearer to her prey, and then suddenly springing upon the poor little
mouse or bird, you will know exactly how such great and terrible cats as
lions and tigers spring upon their prey, whether it be a cow or a sheep, a
man or a child.
Of all of them, none is so fierce as the
"Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,"
which is found now in only one quarter of the world--in Asia, especially
India--and is so bold that he will fight with a lion.
[Illustration: TIGER AND CROCODILE--"THE TUG-OF-WAR."]
No beast has such a beautiful skin; but you may not know that this
wonderful coat is made for use as well as for beauty. A writer who has
observed very carefully says, "However lovely nature frames or fashions a
plant or a bird or an animal, it is never for ornament, but for some actual
purpose or use.
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