Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-01-10
Our Young Folks.
THE UNDERGROUND CASTLE.

LISTEN, and / will tell you Of a
creature who builds his castle under
ground. who scoops passages, hollowS
out tunnels, and digs trenches beneath
our very feet.
You have no need to be afraid of
him; happily he is very small, and
though he will fight fiercely enough
with his own kind, he will not modest
you if you do not interfere with him.
Neither does he often appear above the
surface of the earth: his life Of fiery
energy and unceasing toll is almost en-
tirely spent in his own underground
fortress. Would YOU like a sight of
him. You mist get up very early
some summer morning, that is his
feeding time, and he is very punctual.
You must creep along through the
dewy fields on tiptoe Chs ears are so
SO quick, till you notice a little hillock
of freshly-turned soil; and there,
making his early breakfast off the
worms, you will see the object of your
search, the lord of the subter"anean
castle, the mole.
One of the entrances to it is sure to
be close at hand, and he is down the
hole in an instant. At first sight he
looked dull and stupid, yet you had
time to notice the fierce eagerness with
which he threw himself on his prey,
50 that you could not help thinking
what a savage beast he would be if he
were only bigger. And you saw, too,
his soft, velvety fur, not the least soil
upon it there never Isl, though he has
been boring all night in the damp soil.
And you thought how peculiarly his
fore feet and nose were formed. for
his life, and the work he has to do.
And you wondered where his eyes
were, being SO buried in the fur as to
be hardly visible.
Indeed, whether he sees at all is
doubtful; What use is sight to a crea-
ture that spends its life in darkness?
Do not pity him, however, as though
that life were dull and cherries.
When the mole is seen above ground
he looks indeed as if he had little to
live for; but replace him in his native
soil, and you would not know him to
be the same. He digs out the earth
with untiring energy, though he has
no spade to dig with, nothing but his
teeth and claws. He scampers through
his long passages with life and an
activity which tell of enjoyment as
much as the fish finds in the water, or
the summer swallow on its wing.
Could you follow him, you would be
astonlshed at the complicated nature
of his castle. He does not burrow at
random, rs many people suppose, but
has plan in his head, and works out
that plan with regularity and exact
ness, covering large space of ground
with his roads and tunnels.
First of all, the mole scoops himself
out "a large hall or chamber, which is
to be the center as it We're of his
fortress. Next he digs out two circu-
lar galleries all around, one above the
other, and opening into it. Then he
makes seven or eight high roads lead
ing off in different directions, 50 that
if danger arises in one quarter, he can
easily escape by another. And these
roads are always made in straight
line, though how he manages to do
this is a marvel, for you must remem-
Der it is quite dark. If you will only
shut your eyes, and try to walk i'll a
straight line, you will find how much
smarter. the mole is than you.
But when he has done all this he has
not finished, for lo wants anotherroom
for a nursery. SO little way off he
makes commodious apartment, and
then lines it most carefully with
blades OF grass and young wheat. 50
as to form a nice soft cradle for the
little ones.
1t is not known for certain why the
mole should give himself the heavy
labor of boring out these numerous
passages. Probably they help in his
pursuit Of worms, and, also, they give
him additional security when he re-
poses in his fortress-hall, the work
man, and yet the master of 1t all.
But, at any rate, if you chance to see
him, ask You to look upon him with
respect, for the sake of his perseverance
and his activity, and the work he gets
through. And | ask YOU likewise to
admire the wisdom of that God who
has fitted the humble mole for the
darkness just as carefully as he has
fitted YOU and me for the light and the
sunshine. YOUNG Reaper.