Page:My household of pets (IA myhouseholdofpet00gautiala).pdf/136

 *ings—questionings to which we cannot reply, as we have not the key to their language! They have a language, nevertheless, by which, through sounds and intonations which we scarcely notice, they exchange ideas,—confused, perhaps, but still ideas, such as creatures of their sphere of sentiment and action can understand. Less stupid in this one instance than ourselves, they succeed in learning a few words of our idiom, but not enough to enable them to talk with us. These words are mostly answers to our demands upon them, so our intercourse is naturally brief. But that animals talk with each other no one can doubt who has ever lived familiarly with dogs, cats, horses, or any other sort of beasts.

As an example of this, Jane, who by nature was perfectly fearless, shying at no obstacle whatever, and afraid of nothing, changed her character after living