1.语文

一年级-上册

2.数学

3.英语

一年级-下册

日语

ドラえもん

英语 自然拼读

Written by Ann Weil and Rusty Fischer 
Illustrated by Marcy Ramsety

Noises in the Night 
It was the 1830s in rural New Hampshire. 
Since no school buses or cars existed back
then, Virginia had a long walk to and from
school every day. She liked walking through
the farm fields because it gave her time to
think. Sometimes she’d meet up with friends 
and they’d pass the time talking.

One day, Caleb told her that he had
heard strange sounds while staying at his
grandmother’s house. His grandfather had
died recently and many of his belongings
were stored in the attic. Caleb said that
anytime he walked past the stairs, he felt a
cold chill.
Virginia asked him to stop talking. She
was getting scared. She too, lived in an old
farmhouse with an attic. She too, heard noises
in her attic. She grew worried and wondered
if her house was haunted.

When Virginia arrived home, she wanted
to ask her mother if she believed in ghosts,
but decided against it. Instead, she quietly
and feverishly did her chores. She helped
with dinner, washed all the dishes, and swept
up afterward.
Later in the evening, she was so exhausted 
that as she worked on her homework, she fell
asleep in her chair. Her mother had to help
walk her upstairs to get ready for bed.

“Good night, Virginia. Sleep well.” 
Virginia’s mother kissed her daughter on the
forehead as she climbed under the quilt. 
“Good night, Mother,” said Virginia with
a yawn, but as she drifted off to sleep, she
dreamed of ghosts.

Tip-tap . . . tip-tap . . . 
Virginia popped open her eyes with a burst
of fear. What was that sound? She sat up and
listened carefully, holding her breath.
Tip-tap . . . tip-tap . . . 
“Mother, is that you?” Virginia whispered
urgently, but there was no answer, only a
strange, mysterious sound. Was it ghosts? Her
father always preached that there was usually
a simple answer to a simple problem, and so
she decided to find out.
Tip-tap . . . tip-tap . . .

Virginia jumped
out of bed and ran
over to her bedroom
window to see if
maybe a tree branch 
was brushing against
the glass. While
peering outside, she
watched the wind 
whip up leaves
across the grass 
under a full moon.
Tip-tap . . .
tip-tap . . .

Virginia realized that the mysterious sound 
was not coming from below her, but from
above her. There were no bedrooms on the top
floor, so it must be an animal, Virginia thought. 
Maybe a raccoon snuck into the attic and is
clawing its way out. 
Virginia got back in bed, feeling much
better that she had convinced herself there
were no ghosts, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Lies and Lullabies 
The next morning at breakfast, Virginia
told her parents about the sounds she heard
coming from the attic. 
“I’ll look up there after breakfast,” said her
father, with a quick glance toward her mother. 
“Can I go with you?” asked Virginia. She
saw a flash of worry cross her mother’s face. 
“No, dear,” said Mother. “The attic is dusty, 
and you’ll get your dress dirty.”
Virginia was disappointed, but she knew
better than to argue with her mother.

Later that day,
Virginia helped
her mother hang
meat to smoke
behind the
fireplace. “I
thought we had
one ham left,” 
said Virginia with
a confused look
on her face. 
“What happened
to it?” she asked. 
Her mother looked away without
answering, which Virginia thought was
strange. Her mother was often short with her,
but never ignored her.

That evening, at dinner, Virginia asked her
father about the animal in the attic. “Did you
find anything?” 
Her father shook his head saying only, 
“Maybe a couple of squirrels got in there, but
it’s nothing to worry about.” Virginia noticed
a shared glance between her parents.

That night, Virginia lay in bed waiting to
fall asleep but was having trouble because she
was thinking about the missing ham. She
wondered if the missing ham and the sounds
in the attic were somehow connected. Had a
giant raccoon somehow stolen their ham and
dragged it upstairs?

Then Virginia thought she had heard
sounds, but she didn’t—she heard voices. 
Virginia sat up and listened but could not hear
any words, only the murmur of a whisper. 
Someone—a woman—was singing very
softly, perhaps a lullaby, but Virginia did not
recognize the words or the melody. She heard
from Caleb at school that ghosts made strange
sounds, but could they sing, too?

Virginia got out of bed and ran to her
parents’ room. “Mother! Father!” she called
out. “There are people in the attic! I heard
someone singing!” 
“Hush, child,” scolded her mother, “you’ll
wake your baby sister.”

“But I heard someone singing a lullaby,” 
Virginia insisted. 
“It must have been your mother,” said
Virginia’s father. “She was singing to the
baby.” 
Virginia glanced at her mother. She was
leaning over the baby’s cradle. “Go back to
bed, Virginia,” she said without raising her
eyes.

Virginia went back to her bedroom feeling
annoyed and confused because she knew all
her mother’s favorite lullabies. The tune she
had heard earlier was not any of them. But
why would her father lie to her? 
Maybe our house is haunted after all, thought
Virginia. Maybe Mother and Father know about 
the ghosts and don’t want me to be scared.

Virginia climbed back into bed, where she
strained to hear more singing, but the house
was oddly silent. Virginia liked that less than
the noises. Something—or someone—was
directly above her, but who, or what, was it? 
She slipped deeper under her quilt.

Shadows Beyond the Door 
The next morning, Virginia went into the
pantry to get a jar of peaches for breakfast, 
but there were none on the shelf. Virginia
remembered that there had been three jars left 
the last time she looked. Who had eaten all those
peaches? Was it the same person or thing that took
our ham?

“Do ghosts eat?” Virginia asked her parents
at breakfast. 
Virginia’s father chuckled, but her mother
was not amused. “What nonsense,” she said. 
Virginia was not sure if she believed in
ghosts or not but was tired of being treated
like a kid, and so she decided she would
sneak up and explore the attic on her own.

That night, Virginia
forced herself to stay
awake till after her
parents were asleep. 
Then she got out of bed,
lit a candle, and tiptoed
to the steps that went
up to the attic. 
Virginia heard soft
thumps and bumps and
scraping noises along
the way. She paused
several times, clutching
her chest, but always kept
going. Her heart was beating so hard she
thought that she might faint.

She pushed on the door to the attic, but it
didn’t move—it was locked. 
Virginia peeked through the keyhole and
saw shadowy figures moving inside. Ghosts!
She was right! Her house was haunted! And
there wasn’t just one— Virginia counted three
ghosts: two big ones and one that was about
her size.

Suddenly, her candle blew out, and
Virginia was left in darkness. She wanted to
scream! The only sound she could hear was
the beating of her own heart! 
As Virginia stumbled her way back down
the stairs in a hurry, her hands touched
something soft. She nervously picked it up 
and scurried back to her bedroom.

Standing next to the window, she let the
moonlight show her what she held in her
hands: it was a doll made from cornhusks. 
While Virginia wasn’t sure whether ghosts
ate or not, she was quite sure they did not
play with dolls. She
thought about the
lullaby she had heard 
and the missing food
and suddenly realized 
no ghosts were in the
attic—real people
were, but who?
Virginia devised a
trap to find out.

The next morning, Virginia quietly put the
doll back on the attic stairs. As she waited at
the foot of the stairs, the attic door eased open. 
A little girl crept out and picked up the doll. 
Then she looked up and spotted Virginia.

The frightened little girl gasped and started
to cry. Before Virginia could comfort the girl, 
a hand whisked her back into the attic and
slammed the door. 
Now Virginia knew the secret her parents 
had been keeping from her: the people in the
attic were not ghosts; they were fugitives— 
slaves escaping to freedom in the north.

Virginia once heard her parents whispering
about the Underground Railroad, which
was not a real railroad, with trains and tracks,
but a collection of routes and homes fugitives
could use to escape to Canada. 
They could find freedom in Canada. 
Virginia’s parents were stationmasters on the
Underground Railroad, and now, so was she.

A few days later, Virginia realized the
ghosts were gone. One of them had left a gift
for her on the attic stairs. It was the small doll
made from cornhusks. She kept it, but not for
herself. If ever another family should stop at
their “station,” she would have something to
offer them other than her own fear.

Epilogue 
Around the 1830s, the effort to help slaves 
escaping from the southern United States was
called the Underground Railroad. Although it
was against the law, many individuals, both
black and white, opened their homes to help
these fugitives find freedom. Families like
Virginia’s often fed, clothed, and hid small
groups of fugitives until it was safe for them
to move farther north. It could take from
several months to an entire year for fugitives
to make it north to Canada, one of the only
places they could be truly safe and free.

Ghosts in the House

Introduction
 “Josh Lester takes a short lead off first base.
Japan leads 1–0 in the third inning. “
 As the sun sets behind the bleachers, the
players start to notice the bright glow of the
lights above the field. The grass here smells
different, almost as if it’s been waiting a whole
year for the kids to come back to play.
 “Cody Walker
steps to the plate
to face pitcher
Go Matsumoto.
We’ve seen two
great pitching
performances so
far today. Kyle
Carter has been
at his best
pitching for the
U.S. team.”

Back home in June, there were only about
50 people in the stands. Now it’s August, and
there are almost 5,000, and even more are
watching on national TV! All those weekend
practices and stretching exercises paid off.
The boys are playing in the 2006 Little League
World Series.
 “Here’s the pitch . . .”
 Every game is exciting, but this is the
championship game. The players are no
longer representing just their team or their
state. Now they represent the whole United
States!
 “There it goes!
No doubt about it,
that ball is out of
here! It’s a two-run
home run by Cody
Walker, and the
USA takes a 2-to-1
lead! Wow, what a
moment for this
young man and his
teammates!”

That ended up being the game-winning
play. Cody’s team, from Columbus, Georgia,
went on to win the Little League World Series
championship game 2–1. The spectators
watched as players and their families jumped
for joy. Gloves and caps flew through the air.
A similar scene plays out every summer in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as some of the
best baseball teams from around the world
play in the Little League World Series. This
is a popular event today, but how did Little
League Baseball get to this point?

Baseball Begins
 Experts cannot agree on when the game
of baseball began. Games with balls and
sticks have a long history around the world.
Baseball is similar to older games, including
the British games of cricket and rounders, but
baseball has its own rules and equipment.
 In 1744, the word base-ball first appeared
in print, which helps us know that the game
existed at that time. Baseball became popular
during the Civil War in the mid-1800s. Soldiers
used it as a diversion and played it in their
free time.

Professional baseball began around the end
of the Civil War. The first major league was
organized in 1871. It became the National
League in 1876. By the 1890s, baseball was so
popular that it became known as the United
State’s national pastime. In 1901, a second major
league formed: the American League. The first
World Series, which matches the champions
of the American and National Leagues, took
place in 1903. The Boston Americans beat the
Pittsburg Pirates in eight games, making them
the best baseball team in the United States.

History of Little League Baseball
 For as long as there has been baseball,
there have been kids eager to play it. Before
there was television, many children would
rush home from school and huddle around a
radio to listen to their favorite teams’ games.
Sometimes they would pretend to be one of
the star players. “No, wait! You’re Mickey
Mantle, and I’m Jackie Robinson!”
 Families living on farms set aside land for
a baseball diamond. City kids played stickball
in the streets, using broomsticks for bats and
mailboxes or
trees for the
bases. Vacant
lots were
turned into
playing fields.
Winning was
great, but the
joy of playing a
sport with your
friends was just as important. Playing baseball
was fun, but it was not very well organized.

Then came Carl Stotz. When Carl was a boy,
the older kids would not let him play baseball
with them. When he grew up, he wanted to
give all young boys a chance to play baseball.
His hope was that an organized league would
teach boys the ideals of sportsmanship, fair
play, and teamwork. Instead of knocking on
doors to see whether their friends could come
out to play, now kids could be on a team, play
scheduled games, and be coached on how to
play better.

In 1939, Stotz formed Little League Baseball
in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The league had
only thirty players and three teams. He received
donations from local businesses. He was the
manager of the Lycoming Dairy team. He
asked two brothers to coach two other teams,
Lundy Lumber and Jumbo Pretzel. With thirty
dollars for each team, he bought uniforms for
all the players. Players’ moms sewed team
names on the uniforms. Teams had to share
gloves as well as the only catcher’s mask. The
teams played on a vacant lot.
 In 1947, twelve teams played in the first
Little League tournament that would later
become the
World Series.
The Maynard
Midgets from
Williamsport
beat Lock
Haven Little
League in the
championship game. About 2,000 fans turned
out, despite the August heat, and a great
tradition was born.

As news of the league spread, teams
quickly formed all over the country. Any boy,
age 9 to 13, could play Little League Baseball.
He could be any race, religion, or color. (Girls
were not allowed to play until 1974.)
 By 1948, the league grew to ninety-four
teams. Today, about 2.7 million children play
on Little League teams not only in the United
States but also around the world!

How Teams Get to the Championship
 Now more than 100,000 teams compete in
different divisions. A player’s age determines
the division in which he or she plays. Little
League, the most famous division, has teams
of 11- and 12-year-old players. Each local Little
League team is part of a district that includes
teams from the same area. In June, the best
players from each district are chosen to be part
of an all-star team, which has no more than
14 players. The coach and manager for the
all-star team are also chosen. In July, these
teams play in many tournaments to narrow
the field of competitors.

By August, only 16 teams remain in the
Little League Baseball Division. They have
earned a trip to Howard J. Lamade Stadium
in Williamsport for the Little League World
Series. Game by game, teams are eliminated
until two remain. One team is from one of the
80 countries outside the United States that
compete in Little League, and one team is
from the United States. These final two teams
play one game to determine the Little League
World Series champion.

The 2006 Little League World Series
 For the 2006 Little League World Series,
teams from as far away as Saudi Arabia and
Russia made it to Williamsport in late August.
Kawaguchi City, Japan, won the International
Championship over Matamoros, Mexico,
by a score of 3–0.
Japan’s star player,
Go Matsumoto, hit
a home run and
was brought in as a
relief pitcher to get
his team out of a
bases-loaded, noouts
bind. In the
U.S. Championship
game, the team
from Columbus,
Georgia, defeated
the Beaverton,
Oregon, team 7–3.
It was up to Georgia to carry the banner of
the United States against Japan in the World
Series Championship game. And carry it,
they did.

Georgia’s pitching phenom Kyle Carter
struck out eleven batters and gave up only three
hits. Matsumoto’s pitching kept the game
close, but the Georgia team won to take the
series for the United States for the second year
in a row. It was quite a feat as the Kawaguchi
City team had been undefeated.

Successful Little Leaguers
 Many Little League World Series players have grown up
to become baseball, hockey, and football players.
Gary Sheffield, a nine-time Major
League Baseball All-Star, played
in the 1980 Little League World
Series. Derek Bell, who played
on that same Little League World
Series team, later played in the
Major League World Series
for the Toronto Blue Jays. Little
League World Series players
Chris Drury (1989), Stephane Matteau (1982), Pierre
Turgeon (1982), and Ray Ferraro (1976) have played
hockey in the National Hockey League. Brian Sipe, a
former Cleveland Browns quarterback, played in the
1961 Little League Baseball World Series.

Conclusion
 The Little League World Series continues
to grow and change. More than 300,000 people
attended tournament games in 2006, and the
games were televised around the United
States. When second baseman Josh Lester of
Columbus, Georgia, fielded the last out of the
championship game, the crowd broke into
cheers and chanted, “USA! USA!”

In true Little League spirit, the Georgia
team members asked the Kawaguchi City
players to join them in a victory lap around
the field. This proves that Little League’s goal
remains the same after decades of growth:
to provide a game that teaches players the
principles they should use as good citizens
of the world.
 “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and
girls, we’ll see you next year for another
exciting Little League World Series!”

Explore More
 To learn more about Little League Baseball and
Softball, visit the website: www.littleleague.org
 For Little League World Series history, including
records and more famous former players, visit the website:
www.littleleague.org/worldseries

A Big League for Little Players

Written by Lewis Carroll
 Illustrated by Joel Snyder

In this classic story, Alice follows 
 the White Rabbit down a rabbit 
 hole. She encounters many strange 
 characters and adventures, 
 including drinks that make her 
 grow and food that makes her 
 shrink. This part of the story 
 begins when Alice once again 
 catches up with the White Rabbit, 
 who seems to be in a very big hurry.

Very soon the Rabbit noticed Alice. 
 He called to her in an angry tone.
 “Why, Mary Ann, what are you doing
 here? Run home this moment and 
 fetch me a pair of gloves and a fan. 
 Quick, now!” Alice was so frightened 
 that she ran off at once in the 
 direction he pointed without trying 
 to explain the mistake he had made.

“He took me for his maid,” she said 
 to herself as she ran. “But I’d better 
 take him his fan and gloves—that is, 
 if I can find them.” As she said this, 
 she came upon a neat little house. On 
 the door was the name W. RABBIT. 
 She went in without knocking and hurried 
 upstairs. She was very afraid that
 she might meet with the real Mary Ann 
 and be kicked out of the house.
 “How strange it seems,” Alice said 
 to herself, “to be running errands for 
 a rabbit! I suppose my cat Dinah will 
 be sending me on errands next!”

By this time she had found her 
 way into a tidy little room 
 with a table by the window.
 On it was a fan and two or 
 three pairs of tiny white 
 gloves. She took the fan and 
 gloves,and was just going to 
 leave when her eye fell upon 
 a little bottle near the mirror.

There was no label this time with 
 the words “DRINK ME.”Nevertheless 
 she uncorked it and put it to her 
 lips. “I know something interesting 
 is sure to happen,” she said to
 herself. “Something interesting 
 always happens when I eat or drink 
 anything. So I’ll just see what 
 this bottle does. I hope it’ll
 make me grow large again. I’m tired 
 of being such a tiny little thing!”

It did indeed, and much sooner 
 than she expected. Before she had 
 drunk half the bottle, she found 
 her head against the ceiling. She 
 had to stoop to save her neck from 
 being broken. She hastily put down 
 the bottle, saying to herself, 
 “That’s quite enough. I hope I 
 won’t grow any more. As it is, I 
 can’t get out the door. I do wish 
 I hadn’t drunk so much!”

Alas, it was too late to wish that! 
 She went on growing and growing, 
 and very soon had to kneel down 
 on the floor. In another minute 
 there was not even room for this, 
 and she lay with one elbow against 
 the door and the other curled 
 round her head. Still she went on 
 growing. As a last resort, she put 
 one arm out the window and one foot 
 up the chimney. She said to herself, 
 “I can do no more, whatever 
 happens. What will become of me?”

Luckily for Alice, the little bottle had 
 had its full effect, and she grew no 
 larger. Still, it was very uncomfortable, 
 and there seemed to be no chance of 
 ever getting out of the room again. 
 No wonder she felt unhappy. “It was 
 much pleasanter at home,” poor Alice 
 said to herself. “I wasn’t always 
 growing larger and smaller, and being 
 ordered around by mice and rabbits. I 
 almost wish I hadn’t gone down that 
 rabbit hole. And yet, it’s rather 
 strange, you know, this sort of life.
 I wonder what will happen to me.”

“When I used to read fairy tales,” 
 she said,“I imagined that this kind 
 of thing never happened. Now here I 
 am in the middle of a fairy tale! 
 There ought to be a book written 
 about me! And when I grow up, I’ll 
 write one. But wait, I suppose I’m 
 grown up now.” She continued in a 
 sorrowful tone. “Won’t I ever grow 
 up from where I am now? That will be 
 good, in one way—I’ll never have 
 to be an old woman. But then, I’ll 
 also always have lessons to do!”

“Oh, you foolish Alice,” she answered
 herself. “How can you do lessons 
 in here? Why, there’s hardly any room 
 in here for you, and none at all for 
 school books.” She went on talking, 
 taking first one side and then the 
 other, until after a few minutes she
 heard a voice outside and stopped to 
 listen. “Mary Ann! Mary Ann!” said 
 the voice. “Fetch me my gloves this
 moment!” Then came a little pattering 
 of feet on the stairs. Alice knew it
 was the Rabbit coming to look for her.

The Rabbit came up to the door and 
 tried to open it. But, as the door 
 opened inwards and Alice’s elbow 
 was pressed against it, that attempt 
 failed. Alice heard him say to himself,
 “Then I’ll get in the window.” That 
 you won’t, thought Alice. After 
 waiting until she thought she heard 
 the rabbit just under the window, she 
 suddenly spread out her hand and made 
 a snatch in the air. She did not get 
 hold of anything, but she heard a little 
 shriek and a crash of broken glass.

Next came an angry voice—the 
 Rabbit’s—”Pat! Pat! Where are
 you?” And then a voice she had 
 never heard before. “Digging for 
 apples, your honor!”“Digging 
 for apples, indeed!” said the 
 Rabbit angrily. “Come and help 
 me out of this.” (Sounds of more 
 broken glass.) “Now tell me, 
 Pat, what’s that in the window?”
 “Sure, it’s an arm, your honor!”

“An arm, you goose! Who ever saw one 
 that size? Why, it fills the whole 
 window!”“Sure, it does, your honor, 
 but it’s an arm for all that.”
 “Well, it’s got no business there, 
 at any rate. Go and take it away!”
 There was a long silence after this, 
 and Alice could only hear whispers 
 now and then. At last, she spread 
 out her hand again and made another 
 snatch in the air. This time there 
 were two little shrieks, and more
 sounds of broken glass.

She waited for some time without 
 hearing anything more. At last 
 came a rumbling of little wheels 
 and a good many voices all
 talking together. She made out 
 the words: “Where’s the other 
 ladder?—Bill’s got the other—
 Bill! Fetch it here, lad!—Here, 
 put’em up at this corner—

No, tie them together first—
 Bill! Catch hold of this rope—
 Will the roof hold?—Mind that 
 oose slate—Oh, it’s coming 
 down! (a loud crash)—Now, who 
 did that?—It was Bill, I fancy
 —Who’s to go down the chimney?
 —Nay, I won’t! You do it!
 —Bill’s to go down—Here, Bill! 
 The master says you’re to go 
 down the chimney!”

“Oh! So Bill’s got to come down 
 the chimney, has he?” said Alice 
 to herself. “This fireplace is 
 narrow, to be sure. But I think I 
 can kick a little!” She drew her 
 foot as far down the chimney as she 
 could. She waited till she heard a 
 little animal (she couldn’t guess 
 what it was) scratching and scrambling 
 about in the chimney. “This must be 
 Bill,” she said to herself. Then she 
 gave one sharp kick, and waited to 
 see what would happen next.

The first thing she heard was a 
 chorus of “There goes Bill!” 
 Then the Rabbit’s voice—
 “Catch him, you by the hedge!” 
 then silence. And then another 
 confusion of voices—“Hold up 
 his head—Don’t choke him—How 
 was it, old fellow? What happened 
 to you? Tell us all about it!”

Last came a feeble, squeaking 
 voice. (That’s Bill, thought 
 Alice.) “Well, I hardly know—
 I’m a bit too flustered to 
 tell you. All I know is, 
 something comes at me like a 
 jack-in-the-box, and up I goes 
 like a skyrocket!”“So you did, 
 old fellow!” said the others.

“We must burn the house down!” said 
 the Rabbit’s voice. Alice called out 
 as loud as she could, “If you do, 
 I’ll set Dinah at you!” There was 
 a dead silence instantly. Alice thought 
 to herself, I wonder what they will 
 do next? If they had any sense, 
 they’d take the roof off. After a 
 minute or two, they began moving about 
 again. Alice heard the Rabbit say, 
 “A bucketful will do, to begin with.”

A bucketful of what? thought Alice. 
 But she had not long to wonder, for 
 a shower of little pebbles came 
 rattling in at the window. Some of 
 them hit her in the face. “I’ll 
 put a stop to this,” she said to 
 herself. She shouted out, “You’d 
 better not do that again!” which 
 produced another dead silence.

Alice noticed with some surprise 
 that the pebbles were all turning 
 into little cakes as they lay on 
 the floor. A bright idea came into
 her head. If I eat one of these 
 cakes, she thought, it’s sure to 
 make some change in my size. As
 it can’t possibly make me larger, 
 it must make me smaller, I suppose.

So she swallowed one of the 
 cakes. She was delighted to 
 find that she began shrinking. 
 As soon as she was small enough
 to get through the door, she 
 ran out of the house. She found 
 quite a crowd of little animals 
 and birds waiting outside.

The poor little lizard, Bill, was 
 in the middle, being held up by 
 two guinea pigs. They all made a 
 rush at Alice the moment she 
 appeared. But she ran off as hard 
 as she could, and soon found 
 herself safe in a thick wood. If 
 you would like to read more of 
 Alice’s adventures, ask your 
 librarian to help you find Alice 
 in Wonderland or Through the 
 Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.

A Selection from Alice in Wonderland

Introduction
 Do you think animals are capable of feeling
love? I am convinced that animals feel love,
as well as many other emotions. Many pet
owners and people who work with animals
agree with me.
 However, many scientists do not go along
with this idea. To them, what you and I consider
animal emotions are really instincts. Instincts
are built-in behaviors animals do without
thinking that are designed to keep them alive.

In this book, you’ll read amazing stories
about animals that I believe show that they
aren’t just behaving on instinct. The stories
include tales of loyalty, friendship, tenderness,
compassion, and parental care. As you read,
think about how humans would behave in
similar situations. When you finish reading,
I’m convinced you’ll agree that animals can
and do feel love.

An Elephant’s Dilemma
 Echo was the highest-ranking female in a
herd of African elephants being filmed for a
wildlife movie. Soon after she gave birth to
a male calf, it became clear that the baby was
unable to stand. His front legs were bent at
the wrist joints, and he couldn’t straighten
them. He kept raising himself up on his hind
legs but couldn’t get his front legs to work
properly. Echo tried to lift the calf with her
trunk, but he simply couldn’t walk.

An elephant herd depends on its head
female for leadership. It was soon time for
the herd to move on to search for food, but
the young calf would never be able to keep up
since he couldn’t walk. Echo didn’t want to be
separated from the herd, but she refused to
abandon her new son, Ely. Elephants can
survive for several days without food and
water, but it’s a big risk to stay in one place for
too long. Echo had to choose between the herd
and her son.

While most of the herd left to search for a
new watering hole, Echo and her daughter
Enid stayed with Ely. It was hot, and they
were soon out of food and water. Echo and
Enid managed to move Ely to a small mud
hole to splash themselves and the calf with
water. Again Echo tried to get Ely to his feet,
but he screamed. Because he couldn’t stand,
Ely was unable to nurse properly. The little
guy was soon close to starving. Echo still did not abandon him.

Somehow, the calf survived for two days.
On the third day he started putting the
bottoms of his feet on the ground and trying
to stand up. He kept standing, falling, and
trying again. Amazingly, Ely was eventually
able to walk, and the three found and met up
with the rest of their herd.

The filmmakers figured that the calf was
so large that his front legs were locked in an
unnatural position while inside his mother.
Somehow Echo knew that Ely just needed
time to stretch his legs and get them moving
properly. His patient, loving mother risked
her life to give the calf just what he needed
to survive. In my opinion, Echo clearly felt
love for her son.

Mom and Baby?
 During the 2004 Asian tsunami, a young
hippopotamus named Owen became separated
from his mother and was carried far from his
home by the ocean’s waves. A wildlife ranger
rescued him and arranged for Owen to be
taken to a wildlife park. Missing his mother,
Owen found a substitute mom in a 100-year-old
tortoise named Mzee. The unlikely pair are now
devoted and inseparable companions.

Penguin Parenting
 Emperor penguins live in Antarctica,
which has one of the harshest climates on
Earth. In March, these penguins migrate one
hundred miles—on foot or by belly sliding—
to their nesting ground. After arriving, the
colony huddles together to survive freezing
temperatures and high winds. Each penguin
also chooses a mate.

In May or early June, the female, whom
we’ll call Snow, lays an egg. She places it on
her feet to prevent
it from touching
the ground and
freezing. As soon as
the male—let’s call
him Ice—sees the
egg, he begins
singing ecstatically.
Snow joins him in
song, and the pair
sing together for
as long as an hour
as they stare at
the egg.

After singing, Snow carefully passes the
egg to Ice. He supports it on his feet and
covers it with a flap of belly skin to keep
it warm. Ice protects the egg from harm
while Snow treks back to the ocean to feed.
In her absence, Ice eats nothing for nearly
four months through a brutal winter
while balancing the egg on his feet and
barely moving.

The egg hatches in August. When Snow
returns from the sea, she sings and dances
when she locates Ice. She is even more excited
to hear her chick peeping and quickly takes it
onto her feet. Ice takes off for the ocean and
the promise of a good meal after a long, hard
winter of babysitting.
 Snow and Ice give new meaning to “going
the extra mile” for their child. During the next
few months, Mom and Dad take turns traveling
up to 50 miles back to the ocean to feed. The
penguin chick is always in the watchful, loving
care of one of its parents, who show their love
by always keeping their chick safe.

Malamute Mates
 Kobuk and Tika, two champion malamute
show dogs, were a breeding pair enjoying
their doggie retirement. Kobuk, the male, was
dominant and demanding of attention from
Anne, his owner. He was quick to make his
needs known, whether a belly scratch, a meal,
or a trip outside. Tika, the female, was much
quieter and more passive. If someone tried to
pay attention to her, Kobuk would grab the
attention for himself. He also insisted on
going out the door first for daily walks. If Tika
was in the way, he’d often knock her down.

One day, Anne discovered a tumor on
Tika’s leg that turned out to be malignant.
Somehow Kobuk knew, and his behavior
toward Tika immediately changed. He
insisted on staying by her side day and night,
and frequently groomed her face and ears.
After Tika’s leg was amputated to remove the
cancer, Kobuk watched over her attentively.
Anne could tell Kobuk was terribly worried
to see Tika suffer.

One night Kobuk woke up Anne with great
urgency. He ran over to Tika, and Anne took
them both outside. Anne discovered that
Tika’s belly was swollen and huge. Tika’s
stomach had filled with air, a condition that
can be life-threatening. A visit to an emergency
veterinary clinic saved Tika’s life, but only
because of Kobuk’s alert warning. Tika
recovered from her surgeries and learned to
walk on three legs. Kobuk went back to being
his rambunctious self—but only after he had
proven his devotion to his beloved mate.

A Dog with a Big Heart
 Jethro was a large, gentle dog who came
to his owner, Marc Bekoff, from the Humane
Society. Jethro didn’t chase animals, even
though that behavior is instinctual to most dogs.
He preferred to peacefully watch the world
around him. One day Jethro brought Marc a
baby rabbit that didn’t have parents to care for
it. While Marc nursed the rabbit over the next
two weeks, Jethro insisted on staying right next
to the baby’s box to watch over her. For months
after the rabbit was released back into the wild,
Jethro would run to the spot where Marc had
let the rabbit go, hoping for a reunion with the
rabbit whose life he’d saved.

Conclusion
 This book contains just a few of the many
inspiring stories of animal love and devotion.
These kinds of interactions take place all the
time in the animal kingdom when people
aren’t watching. Each interaction provides
evidence that animals can and do feel love.
 The next time you see animals interacting,
consider the fact that they are family to each
other. Just because they can’t speak the words
I love you, as humans do, doesn’t mean they
don’t feel the emotion behind the words.
Their loyalty, devotion, and compassion for
each other leave no doubt that animals are
capable of love.

Animals Feel Emotions

Introduction
 Every child dreams about growing up.
Some children know what they want to be
as adults. They may want to be artists or
musicians, or doctors or lawyers. Others have
no idea what they want to be. Some do not find
a direction for their life until they are adults.
 This is the story
of just such a child.
Things happened in
his life that caused
him to doubt himself
and made him feel as
though he did not fit
in. He was bothered
by many things that
happened around
him. Over time,
those things helped
him discover his
purpose in life. He developed a strong desire
to change the practices that had made him feel
like an outsider. That desire led him to become
president of the United States of America.

Growing Up
 Barack Obama Jr.—called Barry during his
childhood—was born in 1961 in Hawaii. His
mother, Ann Dunham, was from the state of
Kansas. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was
from the country of Kenya, in eastern Africa.
His parents met and married while they were
students at the University of Hawaii. The
marriage did not last. By the time Barry turned
four, his parents had divorced and his father
had moved back to Kenya.

Barry’s mother married a man from
Indonesia when Barry was six. The family left
Hawaii and moved to Indonesia, where his
half-sister was born. Barry attended school
in Indonesia for four years. He learned the
language and customs of his new country.
He also saw what it meant to be very poor.
Many Indonesian families struggled each day
just to have enough food to eat.
 Barry sometimes felt strange being so far
from Hawaii. He felt he was not part of the
community where he now lived. He wondered
who he was and where he belonged in the
world. Having parents of different races and
from different continents caused him to
wonder and question even more.

While the family lived in Indonesia, Barry’s
mother began teaching him about race and
ethnicity. He learned about slavery and about
the civil rights movement in the United
States. Ann also
taught him about
important African
Americans in politics,
history, music, culture,
and sports who
helped to improve the
world. She wanted
Barry to be proud of
his racial heritage.

But Barry was confused. Although his
mother taught him about African American
leaders, he also learned about people who
were ashamed of the color of their skin. He
also learned about people who thought others
were wrong or ignorant just because of their
skin color or religion. Barry began to see that
race and ethnicity were complicated issues.
How could people feel pride when they were
being judged on the very things they were
proud of?

After four years in Indonesia, Barry’s
mother thought that he could receive a better
education back in the United States. So in
1971, when he was ten, she sent Barry back to
Hawaii to attend
school and to
live with his
grandparents.
 In Hawaii, Barry again felt like an outsider.
He was one of only two African American
students in his class. Some
of his classmates made
fun of his unusual name.
He gained strength from
reading about other people
who felt like outsiders but
who had successfully found
their way in the world. He
was inspired by Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and other
leaders who believed in
peaceful social change.

Do You
Know?
The year
Barry returned to
Hawaii, his father
came from Kenya
for a month. That
visit was the last
time Barry saw
his father, who
was killed in a car
accident in 1982.
His mother died of
cancer in 1995.

Finding His Way
 After he graduated
from high school in
Hawaii, Barry went to
college in Los Angeles.
During that time, he
and other students
spoke out against
South Africa’s white
government, which
favored terrible
treatment of black
people. Barry began to embrace his African
heritage and started using his Kenyan name,
Barack, which means “blessed.” He started
to understand that he didn’t have to choose
between his white and black backgrounds—
he was both.
 Barack wanted to learn how laws and
government worked. He wanted to help
change some of the injustices he saw. In 1981,
he transferred to Columbia University in New
York City. He graduated in 1983 with a degree
in political science.

By the time Barack finished college, he knew
he wanted to help people in communities. He
wanted to involve people in creating better
lives for themselves. He also wanted to see
local laws changed so people would receive
fair treatment. He found a job and moved
to Chicago in 1985. He became the director
of an organization that helped people in poor
neighborhoods find jobs and improve their lives.

Do You Know?
 Before Barack moved to Chicago, he held a job
with a big business for a short time. He started earning
good money, but he was not happy. He hungered to
be involved in something bigger than his own life. He
quit his job and found one where he could help people.
Later he said, “There’s nothing wrong with making
money, but focusing your life [just] on making a buck
shows a poverty of ambition.”

Barack helped set up a job-training
program for African Americans who had lost
their jobs when factories closed. He also
helped call attention to a dangerous material
called asbestos that was in the walls of
buildings where many poor people lived. His
organization started a tutoring program to
help young people who wanted to go to
college. Barack also managed a program to
sign up new voters. He encouraged people to
get involved in politics so that fairer laws
could be passed.

Barack’s work in Chicago fed his passion
for helping poor people. But through his work,
he saw that to make lasting changes, he would
need to learn how to change laws. He believed
that by changing unfair laws, communities
could improve the lives of their people.
 Barack entered
Harvard Law School,
near Boston, in 1988.
During his time there,
he became the first
African American to be
in charge of a respected
magazine called the Harvard Law Review. He
earned a law degree in
1991 and graduated
with honors.

Do You Know?
 Before entering law
school in 1988, Barack
traveled to Kenya for the
first time. He met many
relatives there, including
his grandmother.

After finishing law school, Barack moved
back to Chicago and worked for a law
company for the summer. A female lawyer
named Michelle Robinson advised him, and
they became friends. Barack invited Michelle
along when he went to visit some of the people
and communities he had helped in the 1980s.
Michelle was deeply moved by Barack’s vision
of a better world. She saw how much the
people he had worked with respected him.
Barack and Michelle married in 1992.

Becoming a Politician
 Barack had become a lawyer to help people.
But he soon saw that helping people as a
lawyer was a very slow process. He decided
that entering politics and changing laws would
be an even faster way to help. In 1996, he ran
for and won a seat in the Illinois state senate.
As a state senator, he helped change laws so
poor working families could pay lower taxes.
He also helped change laws so children would
have better education and health care.

Barack ran for the United States Senate in
2004. He was asked to speak at an important
meeting of the Democratic Party. He gave a
hopeful speech about all Americans working
together to help the United States become an
even greater country. The speech was a big
success, and Barack’s words inspired many
people. He easily won a seat in the U.S. Senate
later that year. Because of the speech, many
people encouraged Barack to run for
president—the biggest job in the United
States—in 2008.

“Tonight is a particular honor for me
because, let’s face it, my presence on this
stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a
foreign student, born and raised in a small
village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats,
went to school in a tin-roof shack …. [My]
mother … was born in a town on the other
side of the world, in Kansas ….
 “My parents shared … an abiding faith
in the possibilities of this nation. They
would give me an African name, Barack, or
”blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America
your name is no barrier to success …. They
imagined me going to the best schools in the
land, even though they weren’t rich, because
in a generous America you don’t have to be
rich to achieve your potential ….

“I stand here today, grateful for the
diversity of my heritage, aware that my
parents’ dreams live on in my two precious
daughters. I stand here knowing that my
story is part of the larger American story …
and that in no other country on Earth is my
story even possible.”
 — Barack Obama, Democratic National
 Convention, July 27, 2004

Barack had to be convinced that being
president was the best thing for him and
his family. He thought that he did not have
enough experience as a U.S. senator. Barack
knew that, because he was African American,
running for president could be dangerous. He
knew that just running for president would
change his and his family’s lives forever. He
could no longer take a walk or get his hair cut
without drawing a crowd.

While he thought about whether or not to
run for president, Barack’s reputation grew.
The two books he had written inspired many
people to write to him and encourage him. He
continued to give speeches and talk to people.
Many more people became inspired by his
words, his clear thinking, his respect for all
people,
and his
belief in
peaceful
solutions
to big
problems.

Conclusion
 Barack began his job as president on
January 20, 2009. He, his wife Michelle, and
their two young daughters moved into the
White House in Washington, D.C. In October
2009, President Obama was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to make
the world a better and more peaceful place.

“Change will not come if we wait for some
other person or some other time. We are the
ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the
change that we seek.”
 —Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Do You Know?
 The koala, often called
a koala bear, is not a
bear at all, even though
it may look like one. It is
a marsupial, or pouched
mammal. Marsupials are
especially common in
Australia and also include
the kangaroo, wombat,
and Tasmanian devil.
The only marsupial in the
Americas is the opossum.

What Is a Bear?
 Bears are intelligent, curious,
powerful animals that have
always fascinated people. They
have thick fur, short legs, small
ears, stubby tails, long claws, and
jaws that can crush bone. Bears
have a keen sense of smell and can
even smell and find food packed inside plastic
bags. The smallest bear is the sun bear, which
weighs 36 to 63 kilograms (80–140 lbs). The
largest bear is the polar bear—male polar bears
can weigh as much as 680 kilograms (1,500 lbs).

Many bears are known for hibernating, or
sleeping, often for months at a time. Bears that
hibernate do so to survive the cold winter when
food is scarce. They consume large quantities of
food during the warmer months to store enough
fat to last without food during the winter.
 Even though bears are famous for hibernating,
many bears do not hibernate. Polar bears and
giant pandas cannot obtain enough food during
the warmer months to fatten up and go without
food in the winter. Sun bears and sloth bears,
which live where food is plentiful year-round,
also do not hibernate.

Growing Up
 Most adult bears are solitary, preferring to
roam on their own. The exceptions are during
the mating season and when mothers care for
their cubs.
 Bears usually have one to three cubs at a time.
Bear cubs are very small, blind, and helpless at
birth. They stay in a den with their mother for
several months following their birth. Male bears
do not help raise cubs, and in fact sometimes
kill and eat them. The mother bear must fiercely
protect her cubs while they are young and
vulnerable. Cubs stay close to their mother for
up to three years. During that time, their biggest
task is to learn how to find food. Then they are
on their own.

Kinds of Bears
 The following pages introduce the eight kinds
of bears. Their comparative sizes are shown in the
illustration below.

Polar Bears
 The polar bear is the largest bear and the
largest land-dwelling carnivore on Earth. It is
easily identified by its white or yellow-white
fur that camouflages it in snowy surroundings.
 Polar bears are exceptional swimmers, aided by
partially webbed front paws. A thick layer of fat
keeps them warm, even in frigid water.
Polar bears live near the North Pole. They
are powerful hunters, eating mostly seals and
walruses. Because food can be scarce, they may
not eat for four or five days at a time.

Do You Know?
 Polar bears have black skin
under their fur. The black skin
absorbs the sun’s energy and
helps keep the bears warm.

Brown Bears
 Not all brown bears are brown—they are
divided into ten subgroups based on coloring,
which ranges from light tan to reddish brown to
very dark brown. One famous subgroup is the
grizzly bear. Its name comes from its gray-tipped
fur, which looks frosty, or grizzled. The largest
brown bear, the Kodiak bear, lives in Alaska.
 Brown bears have the largest range of any
kind of bear. They live in western North America,
parts of Europe, and much of northern Asia.
Brown bears vary in size depending on where
they live and what they eat. Fish, especially
salmon, is a staple in the diet of many brown
bears. The diet of a
grizzly bear is among
the most varied of any
living animal. Grizzlies
eat meat, fish, insects,
eggs, berries, roots,
leaves, and grass.

Giant Pandas
 As a symbol of conservation, the giant panda
is one of the most well-known animals in the
world. It is easy to recognize because of its thick
black-and-white fur and distinctive eye patches.
 Giant pandas live in the forest-covered
mountains of China. They feed almost exclusively
on bamboo and are completely dependent on the
health of bamboo forests in order to stay alive.
Giant pandas are extremely rare, with only about
1,000 left in the wild.

Do You Know?
 The giant panda has an extra “thumb” on each
hand. It is not really a thumb, but instead a special
wrist bone, covered with a pad, that helps the giant
panda grasp bamboo stems.

American Black Bears
 The American black bear—often black but
sometimes lighter—has a light-colored muzzle.
Scientists recognize separate subgroups of
American black bears based on coloring. These
include the cinnamon bear (reddish brown), the
Kermode bear (white), and the blue, silver, or
glacier bear (bluish black or dark gray).
 American black bears inhabit much of the
North American continent, from Alaska and
Canada to northern Mexico. Black bears are true
omnivores, eating a wide variety of plants as
well as honey, fish, insects, and dead animals.
They are very good climbers.

Sloth Bears
 The sloth bear is a type of small bear with a
long, shaggy coat and a lighter-colored face. It
moves slowly and often hangs from tree branches,
similarly to another mammal called a tree sloth.
 Sloth bears live in the forests and grasslands
of India and the neighboring island of Sri Lanka.
Their favorite food is termites. A sloth bear has
a long snout that it uses to suck out these insects
from their nests. These bears also eat fruit, berries,
and honey. When feeding, they make a loud
sucking noise that can be heard from far away.

Sun Bears
 The sun bear is the smallest member of the
bear family. Mostly black, it gets its name from
the light-colored patch of fur on its chest that is
shaped like a rising sun.
 Sun bears live in lowland tropical rainforests
in Southeast Asia. They feed on both plants and
animals. They have unusually long tongues to
help them remove insects from hard-to-reach
places. Sun bears are sometimes called honey
bears because of their fondness for honey. Sun
bears like honey so much that they will brave
angry bees to get it—and eat the bees, too!

Bear Survival
 Stories about bears attacking people are
frightening, but bears are in greater danger from
people than people are from bears. Because of
human activity, bear populations are shrinking.
Over half of all bear habitats worldwide have
been destroyed by humans for farming, mining,
and forestry. Five kinds of bears are endangered,
and the other three are decreasing in numbers.
 Another threat to bears is hunters, who kill
bears for meat, sport, or the use of body parts
for medicinal purposes. Other people hunt bears
because they consider them to be pests that
threaten crops or livestock.
 Conservationists
and wildlife biologists
are working to save
bears from extinction.
Many people are trying
to protect bear habitats
and stop hunting so
that bears can continue
to survive in the wild.

Bears

An Interview with Jude McNally
Conducted by Kira Freed

Introduction
 A two-year-old girl is brought to the
emergency room with a red mark on her leg. She’s too young to explain to anyone what
happened to her. Her parents believe some
kind of animal bit or stung her. How does an
emergency room doctor identify the culprit
that caused her injury?
 Jude McNally is the managing director .
of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information
Center in Tucson, Arizona. He studies things
that are poisonous or harmful to our bodies. Let’s talk with Jude to learn about bites and
stings in the desert.

Life-Threatening Bites and Stings
 Interviewer: What happens first when a
patient such as this young girl is brought .
to the emergency room?
 Jude: Doctors look for symptoms of lifethreatening
bites and stings. They’re looking
for symptoms caused by four possible
culprits: black widow spiders, scorpions,
insects that fly and sting, and rattlesnakes.

Interviewer: What do doctors look for in the
case of black widows?
 Jude: Even though all spiders
produce venom, most of
them can’t get that venom
into people. But the black
widow spider—especially the
female black widow—can
inject venom when it bites.
 Black widows cause a burning, stinging
pain at the site of the bite. There’s not much
swelling, and you can’t see major puncture
wounds. Muscle cramping begins, usually .
in the area of the sting, and it’s especially bad
in small children. A child will get muscle
cramping all over his or her body. Sometimes
the belly looks stiff like a board, and
sometimes breathing becomes difficult. Children can also
get puffy eyes. We
rule out black
widow spider bites
when there isn’t any
muscle cramping.

Do You Know?
 Black widow spiders are not
affected by many insecticides,
which are chemicals used to kill
insects. Remember—spiders are
arachnids, not insects.

Interviewer: What symptoms would you see
in the case of scorpion stings?
 Jude: We have over thirty different kinds
of scorpions in Arizona, and only the bark
scorpion can be life threatening. A two-year-old
child stung by a bark scorpion will be restless
and won’t be able to sit still. We’ll often .
see muscle twitching, especially around the
mouth. Another obvious symptom is roving
eye syndrome—not being able to focus the
eyes. And we’ll see movement disorders,
where a child will look as if he or she is doing
a strange dance.

Other scorpion stings cause local swelling,
but the bark scorpion causes almost no reaction
at the site. With a two-year-old child, we do a
tap test. We run our fingers up and down the
child’s body. He or she will scream when we
find the site of the sting because it’s so painful. If we look carefully, we can sometimes see a
single puncture wound. We rule out scorpions
when restlessness, twitching, and roving eye
syndrome are absent.

Interviewer: What do you look for in the case
of flying, stinging insects?
 Jude: With bees, wasps, and ants, we’re
concerned about allergic
reactions. Most people .
get some redness, itching,
and swelling at the site .
of a sting that goes .
away in a couple of .
days. But a reaction
anywhere other than at the site within the first
hour is considered a type 1 allergic reaction
that can be life threatening. We say this
happens within an hour, but usually within
20 to 30 minutes you know if you’re allergic.
 For example, if someone starts to have
breathing difficulties, that’s a big concern. .
Or if you’re stung on your back and your
hands are itchy, or if you’re stung on your leg
and you’re having trouble swallowing—those
are big concerns. All of those mean that your
whole body is reacting to the sting. This .
type 1 reaction needs emergency medical care
because the patient can die.

More people die from insect stings than from
black widows, scorpions, and rattlesnakes
combined. That’s how important it is to rule
out allergic reactions to flying, stinging insects. We rule out allergic reactions by assessing the
patient’s ability to breathe, as well as by testing
his or her blood pressure. An allergic reaction
causes an extreme drop in blood pressure.

Do You
Know?
 People who
have a problem
with a bite or sting
should call a poison
control center.
A regional poison
control center knows
the kinds of animals
in your area that
you need to be
concerned about.

Interviewer: What symptoms do you look for
with a rattlesnake bite?
 Jude: It’s not as easy to rule out a rattlesnake
bite right away because the disease happens
in stages. It begins with a puncture wound,
possibly with some bleeding. Then you start
to see swelling and discoloration at the site
of the bite. Hours later you may see the .
skin blistering. You can also have tissue
destruction, meaning that skin and muscle
tissue dies around the site.

Bruising that travels over the body is
definitely a sign of a snakebite. We draw
blood, and we measure the parts of blood .
that are responsible for clotting. Snake
venom destroys those parts of the blood, so a
snakebite patient starts bleeding inside, which
makes tissue die. All of this happens over 24
to 36 hours. During this entire time, we give
the patient antivenom to try to stop the
body’s reactions to the venom.

Math Minute
 Rattlesnake antivenom costs a patient about
$3,000 per vial. One patient was in the hospital
for 10 days and received more than 50 vials
of antivenom. Along with the other hospital
expenses, his bill totaled $326,000.
 How much did he spend
on antivenom?
How much
did the
rest of his
hospital
expenses
cost?

Non-Life-Threatening Bites and Stings
 Interviewer: Now let’s talk about animal
culprits that don’t cause life-threatening
symptoms. What symptoms would you see .
with a bite from a Gila (HEE-luh) monster?
 Jude: A Gila monster’s bite will usually create
a little row or circle of teeth marks rather than .
a single puncture wound. About a third of the
time, teeth are embedded in the wound. It’s
a very painful bite because the Gila monster
hangs on for a long time after it bites—half a
minute or more. We say that most people who
are bitten by a Gila monster deserved to be bitten. The Gila monster is a
very docile animal, and
most people who get
bitten are harassing one.

Do You Know?
 A Gila monster is a
venomous lizard found
mostly in Arizona and
northern Mexico.

Interviewer: What about scorpions other than
the bark scorpion?
 Jude: If it’s not a bark scorpion, swelling often
develops at the site beginning a few minutes
after the sting. Patients will feel pain at the site,
and there may be some tingling and numbness,
but it usually goes away in
hours. The swelling is a clue
that it’s not a bark scorpion
sting. With a bark scorpion,
no swelling occurs.
 Interviewer: What kinds of symptoms do
you see with spider bites other than from .
a black widow?
 Jude: When most other spiders bite, their
venom produces local inflammation but
usually no full-body symptoms. The only other
spider bites we pay close attention to are from
brown recluse spiders. Often you don’t feel
their bite, but over the next few hours a blister
forms at the site. Eventually the blister breaks
open, a scab forms, and tissue dies. This can
cover a large area, and it can last for weeks .
or months.

Brown recluse spider bites usually aren’t
part of a diagnosis in the emergency room
because the symptoms take time to develop. Aside from a black widow or a brown recluse
spider, other spider
bites won’t cause any
serious problems unless
the bite gets infected.

Interviewer: And what about
other snakes?
 Jude: There are many more
nonvenomous than venomous
snakes. A lot of snakes we call nonvenomous
actually have venom, but a bite isn’t a serious
health risk. It can make us feel sore, and once
in a while blisters and swelling develop at .
the site, but nothing serious. It’s estimated.
that in the United States there are over 35,000
snakebites each year, and 6,000 .
to 8,000 of them .
are venomous.

Do You
Know?
 Snakebite
death in the United
States is rare,
but worldwide it’s
common. In India,
for example, it’s
estimated that
40,000 people die
from snakebites
each year. This is
due to more deadly
kinds of snakes as
well as less access
to health care.

Conclusion
 Interviewer: Do you have any advice for
readers?
 Jude: Besides rattlesnakes, almost all bites and
stings we deal with happen in and around
people’s homes. Spiders and scorpions are
active at night; they seek a dark crack or crevice
during the day. You’re more likely to come
across them at night when they’re active, so
turning on lights at night will reduce your risk.

If you see something dangerous and take
one step back, you usually remove yourself
from the range of danger. And if you leave the
animal alone, you lower your risk. More than
half the people we treat for a rattlesnake bite
saw the snake, recognized the
danger, and put themselves at
greater risk. If you make smart
choices, you’re much more likely
to stay safe.

Rabies
 Cold-blooded animals can’t carry rabies, and neither
can many smaller mammals. But skunks, bats, raccoons,
foxes, and coyotes all can carry rabies. If you’ve seen
bats in your house or if you’ve been around any of these
animals, you need to talk with a county health official.
If there’s any risk, you need to receive a series of
vaccines. Only one known person has ever survived
a full-blown case of rabies.

Bites and Stings

Choosing The Biggest
 Long ago, writers in ancient Greece chose
seven great works built by creative human
beings. We call these unique structures the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. These
amazing buildings and statues seemed
impossible to build for their time and with the
simple tools then available. Today, there seem
to be few limits to what humans can create.

Recently, a group of engineers asked
modern building experts to select seven new
projects that seemed almost too big to imagine.
These massive projects are engineering feats.
Each is known for overcoming former limits
of size, length, height, or natural conditions.

Channel Tunnel
 The United Kingdom, or the UK, sits about
thirty-one miles across the English Channel
from the coast of France. The Channel seas can
be stormy and dangerous. They have often
helped to keep foreign armies away. In 1802,
French general Napoleon dreamed of digging
a tunnel under the English Channel—to walk
his troops across. Everyone laughed at the idea.
 Today, you can easily cross under the Channel
by taking the Channel Tunnel train. Trains run
through this underwater tunnel system at
speeds of 100 to 200 miles per hour!

Some trains carry only cars, buses, and
trucks. Drivers sit inside their vehicles during
the trip. Other trains carry only passengers,
who sit in comfortable train cars.
 This massive project took about 13,000
people seven years to complete. Workers dug
three huge, 32-mile-long tunnels through the
chalk and clay at the bottom of the English
Channel. The three train tunnels run alongside
each other. Trains travel from England to France
in one tunnel and return in another. The middle
tunnel is a service tunnel used for repairs.

Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
 The small country of The Netherlands
faces the cold North Sea. Much of the land
there lies below sea level. During storms,
waves and floods used to destroy homes and
farmland. The ruined farmland resulted in
food shortages. The Dutch people dreamed
of ways to protect their land, crops, and
people from the sea.
 In 1927, the Dutch began the North Sea
Protection Works. They dammed some areas
along the coast, but they left other areas open
to the sea for shipping and wildlife habitat.

To control the flow of water and shipping,
the Dutch built a floodwall more massive than
any other. The wall has giant gates that stay
open when the sea is calm. The gates allow
ships and wildlife to pass through. During
storms, the gates close to prevent flooding.
This giant system gave the Dutch over one-half
million acres of protected land for farming,
livestock, and homes.

Canadian National Tower
 In Toronto, Canada,
visitors can stand on
the observation deck of
the Canadian National,
or CN, Tower—and see
Niagara Falls about
eighty five miles away.
They can look down
through the deck’s
glass floor and see
the city far below.
 A helicopter was
used to assemble the
tower’s tall antenna in
44 sections. The finished
antenna gave the CN
Tower a then-record
height of 1,800 feet.

Panama Canal
 Panama is a narrow nation that acts like
a bridge of land between North and South
America. Until the 1900s, people who traveled
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean had to
sail around South America. They dreamed of
a shortcut—digging a canal across Panama to
connect the two oceans. Work finally started
on the Panama Canal in 1904.
 The 51-mile canal includes a series of gated
chambers called locks. Each lock in the series
fills with water to raise ships from sea level at
one ocean—stair-stepping them up, and then
down again—to sea level on the other side
of Panama. Today, about 14,000 ships pass
through the Panama Canal system each year.

Golden Gate Bridge
 The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge is a
symbol of San Francisco, California—but for
decades it was just a dream. Local residents
had visualized a bridge across the narrow,
windy waterway between San Francisco Bay
and the Pacific Ocean. After sixty-five years of
planning, construction finally began in 1933.
 The crews worked on towers 746 feet above
the water. They strung the thick cables in the
cold, fog, and wind, with the constant danger
of falling. In fact, eleven workers fell to their
deaths while building the bridge.

Since the bridge opened in 1937, over a
billion and a half vehicles have crossed it, and
it draws thousands of tourists a year. Lanes
for walking and cycling offer people a wide
view of the bay and the city.
 Today, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of
the most famous bridges in the world due to
its size, its distinctive dark orange color, and
its spectacular setting.

Burj Khalifa Tower
 Dubai is a rich coastal resort city
in the United Arab Emirates, or
UAE, a nation in the Middle East.
Dubai has built many of
the world’s biggest
structures, including
the Burj Khalifa tower.
When this 160-story,
2,716-foot skyscraper
opened in 2010, it became
the tallest human-made
structure in the world.
 The area around the Burj Khalifa boasts
parks, fountains, and the largest mall in
the world. Dubai’s amazing building projects
attract business and tourism, and Dubai
is still building!
Dubailand Park will
have six different
amusement parks
in one area. When
complete, it will be
twice the size of
Disney World.

The South-to-North
Water Transfer Project
 In China, managing the water resources
of areas that are either too dry or flood-prone
has always been a challenge. Large northern
cities, including Beijing, need more water than
rain provides. The huge South-to-North Water
Transfer Project will carry needed water along
three different routes. Water will be moved
from rivers and lakes where it is plentiful
to Beijing and other high population areas
where it is not.

The project will use a huge system of dams,
canals, tunnels, and pumps running for
hundreds of miles. Some tunnels will even
move one river under another! This project
dwarfs China’s last enormous project, the
Three Gorges Dam.
 The Three Gorges Dam is the largest
hydroelectric project in the world. This dam
on the Yangtze River is 600 feet high and more
than a mile and a half long. The dam protects
cities downstream from flooding while it
generates more electricity than any other
hydroelectric plant in the world. Its reservoir
may soon connect with the South-to-North
Water Transfer Project.

Both the transfer project and the dam are
controversial. Millions of people have had
to move their homes to make way for the
reservoirs and canals. Some historical sites
may even be flooded—all to deliver water
where it is most needed.

Conclusion
 Unusually big problems can inspire the
biggest dreams and the most imaginative
solutions. The unique designs of these seven
structures solved problems in several different
countries and environments. But even larger
projects are being built right now. There seem
to be few limits to what the human imagination
can create.

Thinking Critically
 What things are important to consider when
creating a type of structure that is very tall, very
large, or that no one has tried to build before?

Building Big Dreams

Introduction
 Butterflies and moths can be beautiful
to watch. People plant gardens to attract
butterflies. Butterflies at zoos and city
gardens draw large crowds. However, no one
builds a garden to attract moths. Many people
think of moths as pests.
 So, how are butterflies and moths the
same, and how are they different? What
makes a butterfly a butterfly? What makes
a moth a moth? To answer these questions,
we need to learn
about their body
parts, life cycle,
and behavior.

Do You Know?
 The largest butterfly
in the world is the Queen
Alexandra’s birdwing.
From wingtip to wingtip
it can be as wide as 30
cm (12 in). It is found in
Papua New Guinea.

What Are Butterflies and Moths?
 Butterflies and moths are insects. Like all
insect species, they are invertebrates, which
means they have no backbone. Instead, they
have a hard skin, called an exoskeleton, that
protects their soft insides. They also have
six legs, a body divided into three parts,
two antennae, and two compound eyes.
 Their wings are covered with scales,
which are like fine, flat hairs. These scales
protect the wings from getting too wet and
help them hold in heat. Butterflies cannot fly
if they are too cold. They often sit in the sun to
warm up before flying.

Butterflies and moths have many of the
same body parts, so it is easy to see why
people have trouble telling them apart.

Head • Compound eyes made up of many
smaller eyes allowing them to see all
around them
 • Antennae to smell and to sense movement
 • Mouth is a long tube
for sucking nectar
 Thorax • Two pairs of wings
 • Three pairs of legs
 • Breathing holes
 Abdomen • Digestive organs
 • Reproductive organs
 • Breathing holes

Do You Know?
 More than 165,000
kinds, or species, of
butterflies and moths
exist. Most of these are
moths. It is believed that
another 100,000 species
exist that have not been
studied or identified.

However, butterflies and moths are also
different from each other in many ways. The
next time you find a butterfly or moth, use
this chart to help you tell which kind of insect
you have found.

Butterflies
 Moths
 Most are active during
the day.
 Most are active at night.
 Most are brightly colored.
 Most are dull in color.
 Skinny body without “fur”
 “Fat, furry” body
 Most have antennae with
knobs.
 Plain or feathery antennae
 Most rest with their wings
above their body.
 Most rest with their wings
spread out flat at the
sides of their body.
 Enlarged lobe on each
hind wing that provides
overlap
 Tiny hook or bristle that
links each forewing and
hindwing while in flight

Life Cycle
 After a pair of male and female butterflies
or moths mate, the female lays her eggs. She
lays them on or near leaves, twigs, or flowers
so that her young will have something to eat
when they hatch.

When eggs hatch, caterpillars come out.
This begins the larval stage of the butterfly
and moth life cycle. Caterpillars have chewing
mouth parts and can eat 27,000 times their
body weight during their lifetime. Their egg
case is often their first meal, followed by the
leaf or flower they’re on, and then the rest of
the plant.
 A caterpillar’s job is to eat and grow. As
it grows, its skin becomes tight and breaks
away. A new skin grows in its place to allow
the caterpillar to get bigger. This is called
molting. A caterpillar molts four or five times
during its life. The caterpillar is fully grown
after about two weeks.

The life of caterpillars is filled with danger.
They are food for many larger animals, such
as lizards, birds, bats, and small mammals.
Caterpillars have many interesting ways to
protect themselves from being eaten.
 Some caterpillars have spines and other
hairs that make them taste bad to predators.
Others have colors or patterns on their bodies
that make them appear more dangerous than
they are. Caterpillars also can be masters at
hiding, blending in with their background,
or staying still until night comes, or until the
danger goes away.
 The swallowtail butterfly caterpillar has
red horns that release a
strong odor to keep
away predators. Many
caterpillars feed on
plants that make them
taste bad to birds and
other enemies. These
caterpillars often are
brightly colored to warn
others: Do not eat me!

When a caterpillar is fully grown, it enters
the pupal stage. In this stage, a caterpillar
slowly changes into an adult. It appears dead
from the outside, but amazing
changes are happening inside.
 The caterpillars of most butterflies enter
this stage by sticking their back end onto
a twig, leaf, or other object. The last molt
leaves a soft pupal skin that hardens into
a case called a chrysalis. The caterpillars
of many moths go through the pupal stage
underground or on the ground. Others spin
a cocoon to protect themselves.

Do You Know?
 The pupa cannot move
to escape predators. Many
butterfly chrysalises are
well hidden by looking
like a dead leaf or piece of
bark. Some chrysalises are
poisonous and are brightly
colored to tell predators that
they are not good to eat.

Just a few hours after the pupal stage begins,
different mouth parts, legs, new muscles, and
tiny wings begin to form. The change from pupa
to adult can take a few weeks. The entire change
from egg to larva to pupa, and then to adult, is
called metamorphosis.
 When the adult is fully formed, it breaks
out of the case. Its wings, which are damp and
crumpled, must expand, dry, and harden before
the insect can fly. When the butterfly or moth
comes out of
its chrysalis, it
is adult in size
and will not
grow any more.

Do You Know?
 For most butterflies and
moths, life is short! Adults
live for two weeks to two
months, except for the
monarch, which can live
from nine to twelve months.

Life as an Adult
 Adult butterflies and moths come in many
shapes, sizes, and colors. Many butterflies are
brightly colored, but others are white or light
colored. While many moths have dull colors,
some, such as the luna moth, have amazing
colors or patterns.
 Adult butterflies and moths have many
enemies. They need to be as careful as
caterpillars not to get eaten. Even though
adult butterflies and moths can fly, many
animals that hunt them—such as birds and
bats—can fly, too.

Do You Know?
 Lantana and butterfly
bush are great plants
for attracting beautiful
butterflies to your garden.
If you want to attract moths
at night, try smearing
mashed banana and honey
on a tree trunk. Keep
watch with a flashlight.

Adult butterflies and moths, like
caterpillars, have many ways to hide to stay
safe from predators. Some have patterns on
their wings that help them to blend in with
nature. Many patterns look exactly like leaves
or flowers. Other butterflies and moths have
bright patterns on their wings, such as spots
that look like eyes, to scare away enemies.
Some, such as the monarch butterfly, are
brightly colored to warn predators that they
taste bad.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Buckeye Butterfly
 Wingspan: 4.2 to 7 cm
(1.7– 2.8 in)
 Range: North America,
from southern Canada
to southern Mexico
 Appearance: The wings
of the buckeye butterfly have large eyespots of
black, blue, and yellow. The eyespots look like the
eyes of a large animal. A predator may be scared
when the buckeye shakes its wings and flashes
its eyespots. This may give the butterfly an extra
second or two to fly away before being eaten.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Luna Moth
 Wingspan: 7.5 to 11.3 cm (3– 4.4 in)
 Range: Eastern and plains areas of United States and
Canada
 Appearance: The luna moth has beautiful pastel
green wings with reddish-brown edges. The unusual
shape of its hind wings helps it to hide among
leaves when it is resting. This is one of a few moths
that never eat as an adult. It eats enough to last
a lifetime while it is a
caterpillar. It spends its
adult life seeking a mate
and laying eggs.

Most adult
butterflies and moths
feed on nectar, a sweet liquid from flowers.
They suck up nectar using their mouth parts,
which look like a hollow tube and work like
a straw that curls up
when not in use.
Butterflies and moths
do not have jaws or
teeth, and they do not
eat solid food.

Butterflies have a good sense of sight, but a
poor sense of smell. The flowers they eat from
are brightly colored. Flowers
often grow in groups that
provide butterflies with a place
to land. Butterflies often walk
around flower groups, sucking
nectar from each blossom with
their mouth parts.
 Because most moths are
active at night, most of the
flowers they eat from are
light colored to be seen in
moonlight. These flowers often
give off a sweet smell to attract
them. Because moths often
hover rather than land, the
flowers’ petals are shaped
to allow for easy eating.
 Butterflies and moths have sense organs
in their antennae, mouth parts, legs, feet, and
other parts of their bodies. These sense organs
help them find food, mates, and plants on
which to lay eggs.

Some butterflies and moths that live in cold
places migrate to warmer places before winter
begins. The best known butterfly that migrates
is the monarch butterfly. Monarchs in North
America begin their long journey south when
it begins to cool off in late summer or fall.
Monarchs living west of the Rocky Mountains
fly to several places on the California coast.
Monarchs living east of the Rockies fly as
far as 4,800 kilometers (2,982 mi) to Mexico.
When they reach warmer places, millions
of them rest in trees through the winter. In
spring, they migrate north again in search
of plants on which to lay their eggs. No one
knows how monarchs find their way.

Conclusion
 Over the years, people have collected
butterflies and moths for scientific study
and as a hobby. Scientists and others have
learned a great deal about these insects from
collections. However, millions of these beautiful
insects have lost their lives because of collectors.
 Watching butterflies and
moths while they are alive is
much kinder and also more
interesting. You can learn a great
deal about their similarities and
differences just by watching
them fly and feed. Take pictures
of them or catch them in a net
for a closer look (don’t touch!)
and then let them go. View
photos of your favorite species
on the Internet or in a book.
Build or visit a butterfly garden
and keep a journal to record their activities.
 However you choose to enjoy butterflies and
moths, remember that they are among nature’s
most amazing insects.

Do You
Know?
 Do not touch
butterflies or
moths. The oils
on human hands
can hurt their
wings. No matter
how gentle you
try to be, you are
likely to hurt them
by breaking a
piece of wing or
rubbing off some
scales.

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