The Newfoundland Dog

The Newfoundland dog is not only strong, but it is brave and kind. It is very fond of water and likes to swim. It rushes into the water and swims in it. If its master throws a stick into the water, the dog swims off at once to get it. When the dog reaches the stick, it seizes the stick with its strong teeth, turns round and swims back. When the dog comes to the dry land it lays the stick at its master’s feet.

The St. Bernard Dog

The St. Bernard dog is very large and strong with a large head, long hair and a bushy tail.

It is very clever and noble.

Its home is among the Alps – high mountains in Switzerland. There are several very steep and narrow roads which lead over these mountains into Italy.

There are snow-storms on these mountains even in summer. But in winter these storms are very fierce. They sometimes come on very suddenly, often after a bright morning. The snow falls so thickly that the travelers soon lose their way and in the end die under the snow. But the St. Bernard dogs come to save their lives.

These dogs took their name from the Convent of St. Bernard. Here the monks trained their dogs to look for travelers during snow-storms.

Every day in winter the monks sent the dogs out, generally in pairs. One dog had a basket of food and a flask of wine. The other had a cloak. In this way the man whom they found could have something to eat and drink at once and could get warm soon. If the man was able to walk they led him towards the Convent. The dogs barked all the way and the monks got ready to meet them.

If the man was so weak that he could not move, the dogs ran to the Convent and brought some of the monks to help him.

In this way the dogs saved many lives.

Once a woman, who wanted to go over the mountains with her little son, fell down and broke her leg. The dog found the little boy, got him on its back and carried him to the door of the Convent. After that it brought some monks to help the woman.

The Elephant

The elephant is the biggest animal living on the dry land. The elephant live in wet tropical forests of Africa and Asia. With its body the elephants makes its way between trees. The thick skin protects the elephants against twigs and thorns. But insects creep into the folds of the elephant’s skin and bite it. That is why an elephant gladly bathes to get rid of them. The elephant splashes water over itself with a big trunk. The neck of an elephant is short; that is why it takes the food from the ground and from the trees with its trunk. The elephant drinks water with the trunk too. First, it takes about 10 litres of water into the trunk and then pours the water into its mouth. The elephant feeds on leaves, grass, bananas, plants, young bamboo. But most of all it likes twigs of the trees. With its trunk the elephant pulls up young trees or breaks them down with its tusks. Then it eats the twigs.

Monkeys

Monkeys live in the forests of the warm countries. Monkeys climb up the trees with their hands and legs. They climb down the trees very seldom, because the trees give them all necessary food – young leaves, juicy shoots and fruit. They find drinking water in the hollows of the leaves where it gets after the rain. On the ground monkeys move with the help of arms and legs.

Desert animals

Most of the lizards and snakes tolerate heat and drought well. The body of the lizard and snakes is covered with scales.

These animals crawl quickly, though they drag their bodies on the ground. There are a lot of lizards and snakes in the sand deserts. They also live in the steppes and in the forests.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 726