THE MOLE.
I remember but two places in the Bible where this animal is mentioned.
One is in Leviticus, where it is named among the unclean animals which
the Israelites were forbidden to eat; and the other is this verse in the
second chapter of Isaiah: "In that day a man shall cast his idols of
silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to
worship, to the moles and to the bats." Have you read about the first
missionaries who went to the Sandwich Islands? And do you remember that
although the people had always been worshippers of idols, they had cast
them all away just before the missionaries came? That was a very
wonderful thing to happen; and it seems as though God was making these
poor people ready to hear about the Savior, when the missionaries should
come. Well, this verse in Isaiah declares that the same thing will
happen by and by over the whole earth. You know that there are now
millions and millions of poor heathen who worship nothing but images of
gold, or brass, or stone; but the day is coming when not an idol shall
be seen, and no being shall be worshipped but the true God. The mole
lives under ground, and the bat in gloomy, dark caves where nobody
thinks of going; so when it is said that the idols shall be "Cast to the
moles and to the bats," it means that they shall be thrown away in dark
and neglected places, just as we throw away old shoes, or any thing that
we care nothing about. Will you try to remember this verse about the
idols? Perhaps you may live to see the near approach of that day.
The mole is a very curious animal in its appearance and in its manner of
living. It is almost always under ground, and we should think that the
little creature could not be very happy; but its skin is as smooth and
handsome as that of any animal, and it seems very well contented with
its dark home. God made it to live there, and he has given it just such
a body at it needs. It is covered with fine, short, silky hair, almost
like soft velvet, so that the earth does not stick to it; and its legs
are very short, so as not to be in the way. If its legs were long it
could not get through the ground very well, you know. Its eyes are very
small, because it does not need to see much, and they are almost buried
too under its soft fur, which keeps out all the dust and dirt. The
opening of the ear is covered in the same way, so that nothing can hurt
it.
Its fore-paws are made broad like a shovel, and are very strong; each
one, too, has five short fingers with which the earth can be removed.
The nose is sharp and bony, and this helps the mole to work its way
through the earth. They throw up the earth when they make their houses
under ground, and in this way mole-hills are made. They like to work at
morning and evening, and also after a shower, when the earth is damp and
soft, and easily moved.
The mole is larger than a mouse, but not as large as a rat. It eats
insects and worms, and sometimes the roots of plants.