squirrels chatting
flying squirrels
flying squirrel in flight
1. Here we have the most curious squirrel of all—one that can fly or sail through the air. It is about the size of the common red squirrel, and nearly of the same color, but lighter upon the lower part of its body.
2. It has a loose skin on each side, running from its fore legs to its hind ones. When it is at rest, or when it walks and runs, this skin hangs like a ruffle. But when Mr. Squirrel wants to go fast, or on a long journey, he scampers to the top of a tree and spreads out his legs, drawing the loose skin tight like a sail.
3. He then gives a leap, and away he sails into the air, striking near the foot of another tree a long distance away. He runs up to the top of thistree, and away he goes again, so fast that nothing can catch him.
4. As he sails through the air, he falls toward the ground; but he can carry his legs and tail in such a way that, just before he strikes, he shoots upward a little way, and lands on a tree, some distance above the ground.
5. The flying squirrel is covered with soft, fine fur, but the covering of the flying-sail is finer than that of any other part. It has large eyes, for seeing in the night. It sleeps most of the day, and comes out after sunset in search of food.
6. A squirrel makes a pretty pet, and sometimes it becomes so tame that it runs about like a dog. A squirrel was once found in its nest before its eyes were opened, and brought to the house.
7. It became very tame, and, after it grew up, it would watch its master when he went out, and get into his pocket, where it would stay and peep out to the people it met.
8. When they came to a country place, the squirrel would leap out, run along the road, climb to the tops of the trees, nibble the leaves and bark, and then scamper after his master, and nestle down into his pocket again.
owl
An owl sat in a hollow tree,And cried the whole day through:"I can not see; the sun blinds me.Ah, what am I to do?"When night was dark, the owl looked out,And thought he'd leave his house:For "light," said he, "has come to me—I'll go and catch a mouse."The mouse he caught, and then he cried:"What next am I to do?The woods shall ring, I'll sit and sing,Too-whit, too-whit, too-whoo!"
An owl sat in a hollow tree,And cried the whole day through:"I can not see; the sun blinds me.Ah, what am I to do?"
When night was dark, the owl looked out,And thought he'd leave his house:For "light," said he, "has come to me—I'll go and catch a mouse."
The mouse he caught, and then he cried:"What next am I to do?The woods shall ring, I'll sit and sing,Too-whit, too-whit, too-whoo!"
Bo-Peep and her sheep
Little Bo-peep said to her sheep,"In the wood there is tender grass growing;And as you're so good, you shall dine in the wood,By the brook that is quietly flowing."Then a squirrel hard by looked down with a sigh,And said, "Oh, please go away, ma'am!The acorns are mine, and the nuts too, so fine;And in the woods always I play, ma'am."Then little Bo-peep at the squirrel did peep:"No harm we are going to do, sir;My sheep are not thieves, and, under the leavesOf the wood, there is room for us too, sir."But I wish to be just: so here's a soft crustOf white bread of my mother's own baking;And I'll give you a slice, which you'll find very nice,If you'll join us in our merry-making."
Little Bo-peep said to her sheep,"In the wood there is tender grass growing;And as you're so good, you shall dine in the wood,By the brook that is quietly flowing."
Then a squirrel hard by looked down with a sigh,And said, "Oh, please go away, ma'am!The acorns are mine, and the nuts too, so fine;And in the woods always I play, ma'am."
Then little Bo-peep at the squirrel did peep:"No harm we are going to do, sir;My sheep are not thieves, and, under the leavesOf the wood, there is room for us too, sir.
"But I wish to be just: so here's a soft crustOf white bread of my mother's own baking;And I'll give you a slice, which you'll find very nice,If you'll join us in our merry-making."
If you saw a goatButtoned in a coat;If you saw a ratDressed up in a hat;If you saw a lambTake a slice of ham;If you saw a bearCombing out its hair;If you saw an oxOpening a box;If you saw a pigEat a nice new fig;If you saw a mouseThrowing down a house;If you saw a stagPicking up a rag;If you saw a cowMake a pretty bow;If you saw a flyTake its slate and cry—You would surely say,"What peculiar play!"Or would surely sing,"What a funny thing!"
If you saw a goatButtoned in a coat;If you saw a ratDressed up in a hat;If you saw a lambTake a slice of ham;If you saw a bearCombing out its hair;If you saw an oxOpening a box;If you saw a pigEat a nice new fig;If you saw a mouseThrowing down a house;If you saw a stagPicking up a rag;If you saw a cowMake a pretty bow;If you saw a flyTake its slate and cry—You would surely say,"What peculiar play!"Or would surely sing,"What a funny thing!"
mole and his habitat
1. Here we have the mole—a very curious animal. It is about the size of a rat, and is covered with a dark brown coat of fine fur. The fur does not lie back, as on the cat, but stands out straight from the body.
2. The legs of the mole are short, and are so formed that it can not stand upon them and raise its body from the ground.
3. The fore legs are large and strong, and each paw has five toes, armed with strong nails. When its toes are together, its fore paw is like a spade; and when they are spread apart, it is like a fork.
4. It has small ears, which are out of sight in the fur; and something like eyes, also deep in the fur, so that it can not see, or at most it can only tell when it is light and when it is dark.
5. Its nose is pointed, and its teeth are all sharp, like those of the cat, but are so small that they look like the points of white needles.
6. What does this little blind animal, that can only creep along, do? how can he get a living? and how does it get away from enemies?
7. We see that all its limbs are so small and set so close to its body that it can easily creep through small holes. Its hair stands out, so that it can crawl both ways.
8. It has no eyes, because it lives in the dark, and does not need to see to get its food.
9. Its nose is pointed and keen, so that it gets its food by scent instead of sight. By scent, too, it can tell when danger is nigh.
10. Its fur is fine and close, so that it is able to live in very damp places, and the wet does not get through to the skin.
11. Its ears and eyes are deep down in the fur, so that, in crawling through a hole, no dirt or dust can get into them.
12. Its teeth are not chisel-shaped, for gnawing, but are sharp and pointed, like the teeth of animals that live on flesh; but they are so small that they would break in trying to eat the bones of even a mouse.
mole's house
1. As the mole is not made for the sunlight, it must live below ground. With its strong fore paws it digs into the earth, and it can dig so fast that anywhere in the grass it will get out of sight in about a minute.
2. When it is above ground and it scents any danger, it does not run or climb, but it digs; and, when once under ground, it can keep out of the way of almost any enemy.
3. As it digs forward, it pushes the dirt backward, and it will go a long way in a little while. Its hind legs drag behind, and, as they have little to do, they are weak.
4. It digs along in the dark when its keen little nose scents a worm or a grub; this it pushes into its mouth with its paw, and eats in an instant.
5. The meat which it finds below ground has no bones; so its small teeth are all that it needs to chew with. In some safe place, nearly always at the foot of a tree, the mole throws up a little mound of dirt, and in the middle of it builds its nest of dried grass.
6. Then it makes tunnels all around, not any one leading straight up to the nest. In the picture we see the mole's nest and the tunnels leading to it. The mole drinks a great deal, and in its tunnels it digs wells where it can go down and find water.
7. In the summer it keeps near the top of the ground; but in winter it digs down deeper, to find grubs, and because it is warmer.
8. In digging under ground, the mole destroys the roots of grass and plants, and does some damage; but it does much more good, by destroying the grubs which live on the roots of plants.
porcupine
1. We find in the woods a curious animal called a hedgehog, but which is really a porcupine. The hedgehog is found in Europe, and lives upon insects; the porcupine lives in quite a different way.
2. The porcupine is a little larger than the rabbit. It has short legs, sharp claws, and a short, broad tail. Like the rabbit, it has chisel-teeth for gnawing.
3. It climbs easily; but it moves slowly, both in walking and climbing. Its food is mostly the inside bark of trees. It climbs a tree, and seldom leaves until it has stripped off most of the bark.
4. As it can not run, it has a curious way of defending itself. Besides a coat of warm, soft fur, its back and sides are covered thick with sharp-pointed quills, from two to three inches long.
5. When the porcupine is feeding or going about, these quills lie back flat, like hair; but when there is any danger, they stand out straight. Upon the approach of an enemy, it folds up its paws, curls its head under its fore legs, and shows itself a bundle of sharp quills.
6. Should a dog or hungry wolf then snap at it, the quills get into his mouth, and stick there. Each quill has barbs like a fish-hook, and many an animal has died from the quills working into its flesh after having tried to bite a porcupine.
7. The porcupine can also throw up its back or strike a heavy blow with its tail, driving the quills into the flesh of its enemies.
8. The quills easily break off at their blunt end, and they grow like the hair; so the porcupine has a plenty for use at all times.
9. When men hunt the porcupine, they take care not to get a blow from the tail, and then they watch their chance, and strike the animal on the nose with a club, which kills it at once.
10. The porcupine builds its nest in hollow trees. In the winter it sleeps most of the time, only coming out once in a while to get something to eat.
woodchuck
1.Thewoodchuck is about twice the size of the common rabbit. Its body is thick, and it has short legs, armed with long, naked nails.
2. It has small, round ears, and a short, bushy tail. It has a thick coat of coarse fur, long whiskers, like a cat, and chisel-teeth for gnawing. It lives upon fruit and the leaves of plants, and is very fond of red clover.
3. When walking, its hind legs do not stand up like those of a cat or dog; but the leg up to the first joint comes down flat upon the ground.
4. With its strong claws it digs a hole in the ground for a home. It chooses a soft place in a bank, where, at first, it can dig up, so that it will not be disturbed by water. Its home has severalentrances, so that, if pursued, it can escape by running in or out. In one of its driest rooms it makes its nest of dried grass; and here it stays in stormy weather, only coming out on pleasant days.
woodchucks
5. Woodchucks are very timid, and, when they come out to feed, one sits up and keeps watch. Should it spy any danger, it gives a kind of whistle, and away they all scud to their holes.
6. When winter comes, the woodchuck rolls himself up in his nest and goes to sleep until spring. He is very fat when he takes to his bed in the fall, but is lean when he comes out ready for his next summer's work.
7. The prairie-dog, found upon the plains in the West, is very much like a small woodchuck. In a prairie-dog town there are hundreds of holes close together. When we go to look at them, we see a little head at every door-way, which dives out of sight as we come near. Owls and rattle-snakes live in the same holes with the prairie-dogs.
A cow lived in a pleasant field,Where cowslips bloomed in spring.Said she, "I think a cowslip feastWould be a pleasant thing."So Mrs. Brindle sent a calfAround the farm, to sayThat she should give a cowslip feastAt four o'clock that day.At four o'clock she sat in stateBeside the flowing brook;The cowslips, with their golden heads,Did most inviting look.The brindle calf in apron stoodTo ope the five-barred gate;And then his mother said that heUpon the guests must wait.The company at length drew near:First Mrs. Blossom came,And Mrs. Dun, and Mr. Bull,Who seemed to-day quite tame.Red, spotted, white, a goodly bandOf cows and calves came nigh;And Mr. Donkey said that heWould cowslips like to try.And Mrs. Mare came with her foal,And Mr. Horse came too,And several sheep with frisky lambs,In woolen dresses new.Then Mrs. Brindle bade her guestsThe cowslips sweet to eat;And if they wished to drink, she said,The brook was clear and sweet.They ate and drank, and chatted too;And, when they went away,Said, "Thank you for your cowslip feast,Dear brindle cow, to-day."
A cow lived in a pleasant field,Where cowslips bloomed in spring.Said she, "I think a cowslip feastWould be a pleasant thing."
So Mrs. Brindle sent a calfAround the farm, to sayThat she should give a cowslip feastAt four o'clock that day.
At four o'clock she sat in stateBeside the flowing brook;The cowslips, with their golden heads,Did most inviting look.
The brindle calf in apron stoodTo ope the five-barred gate;And then his mother said that heUpon the guests must wait.
The company at length drew near:First Mrs. Blossom came,And Mrs. Dun, and Mr. Bull,Who seemed to-day quite tame.
Red, spotted, white, a goodly bandOf cows and calves came nigh;And Mr. Donkey said that heWould cowslips like to try.
And Mrs. Mare came with her foal,And Mr. Horse came too,And several sheep with frisky lambs,In woolen dresses new.
Then Mrs. Brindle bade her guestsThe cowslips sweet to eat;And if they wished to drink, she said,The brook was clear and sweet.
They ate and drank, and chatted too;And, when they went away,Said, "Thank you for your cowslip feast,Dear brindle cow, to-day."
I thought the sparrow's note from heaven,Singing at dawn on the elder bough;I brought him home; in his nest, at even,He sings the song, but it pleases not now:For I did not bring home the river and sky—He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye.
I thought the sparrow's note from heaven,Singing at dawn on the elder bough;I brought him home; in his nest, at even,He sings the song, but it pleases not now:For I did not bring home the river and sky—He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye.
frog
1. Here is a strange-looking creature—the frog. At first sight we would say that it is entirely unlike all the animals we have studied; but let us look a little closer.
2. We see that, like all the others, this little friend of ours has a body with a head, four limbs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth.
3. But how curious it is in form! Its body is short and round; its head is set on to its body without any neck; and its limbs are placed on its sides, so that it can not stand, but only squat.
4. It has large staring eyes, that can look about on all sides; and when it opens its mouth its whole head seems to split apart.
5. It has webbed feet, and can swim well inthe water. It has no teeth, but lives upon grubs and flies and other insects.
frog's headFrog's Head, showing tongue.
6. When a fly comes within reach, the frog does not jump at it, but just darts out its long tongue, covered with slime, so quickly that the fly is caught before it has time to stir.
7. It lives both upon land and in the water. When in the water, it can open and shut its webbed feet like a fan, and so can swim rapidly.
8. When upon the land, it can not walk or run, but it gets along by hops. It sits on its hind feet, and suddenly straightens out its hind legs, and away it goes in a great leap.
9. When the cold weather comes, the frog crawls into some hole, or under the bank near the water, and goes to sleep for the winter.
10. The cold does not kill him, and, when the warm spring days come, he wakes up and comes out ready for the work which he is to do.
froh life cycle
1. In the spring of the year the frog lays its eggs in the water. These eggs are small and round, but soon swell out to the size of a large pea. Each egg has in it a black speck, not much larger than a pin's head.
2. This speck grows, and in the course of a few days out comes a tadpole about half an inchlong. Now, a tadpole has a round head, with a flat tail on one side, but no body.
3. The tadpole can swim with its tail, like a fish. On each side of the head is a small tuft of soft pink threads. These are gills, through which it can breathe the air which is in the water.
4. Then the body grows, and in a short time two little legs come out right where the tail joins the body. In a few days more two other legs come out just back of the eyes, and then we have a tadpole with four legs.
5. But now another change takes place. Lungs for breathing air begin to grow inside, and the gills become smaller. For a time the tadpole breathes partly in the water, with his gills, and partly in the air, with his lungs.
6. Next the gills dry up, and then it comes to the top of the water to breathe; and it looks very much like a frog, except that it has a tail.
7. At last the tail shrinks away, and the tadpole has become a perfect frog. In hot weather all these changes take place in a few weeks; but when it is cold, they take a longer time.
8. The frog, when full grown, can live on the land or in the water. It can stay under water some time, but must come to the top to breathe.
frogs
1. Each Mrs. Frog lays about one thousand eggs, and if they all hatched and grew, every swampy country would soon be overrun with frogs.
2. But fish, birds, and serpents eat them in such numbers that they only about hold their own year by year. Some kinds of frogs are also found to be good food for men, and are caught for that purpose.
3. Frogs are lively and noisy in the first warm days of spring and summer. The little peeping frogs keep up their shrill music all night and day, and with it we hear the deep voice of the bull-frog, like a bass-drum heard at a distance.
4. The bull-frog is the largest of the frog kind. It eats worms, insects, and snails, and sometimes it even eats its own tadpoles.
frog clinging to branch
5. In summer, we hear among the trees a shrill kind of whirring sound, which is kept up for a long time without any pause. This is the song of the tree-frog, sometimes called the tree-toad.
6. This is a very small frog. It is born in the water, like other frogs; but when it comes out in the spring, it climbs into the trees and lives there.
7. Its feet spread out into broad, flat toes, from the bottom of which comes out a sticky fluid. By means of these toes, which partly act as suckers, the frog can crawl along on the under side of branches without falling.
8. The color of the tree-frog is so much like that of the wood it clings to that it can not be seen unless we look very closely for it.
toad
1. The toad, which we find in our gardens and yards slowly crawling about, or making short hops, is a cousin of the frog, and is made very much like him.
2. The frog has a smooth skin; but the skin of the toad is thick, and is covered with warts. It has a larger mouth than the frog, and, on the whole, it can not be called handsome.
3. The toad, like the frog, is usually born in the water, and is at first a tadpole. When it loses its gills and tail, it comes out of the water and lives upon the land, until it goes into the water again in the spring to lay its eggs.
4. Sometimes the toad can not reach the water at the proper time, and then the tadpole changes to a perfect toad soon after it is hatched.
5. The toad feeds on insects, and is very useful about the garden, as it picks off the grubs and beetles that destroy the fruit and flowers.
6. It eats only living insects, and it never chases its prey. It will sit motionless until a fly or other insect comes within reach, and then it darts out its tongue so rapidly that the little victim can not escape.
7. It swallows its food whole. When it seizes a worm, it crams fold after fold into its mouth with its fore feet, and, when all is in, it gives one great gulp, and the worm disappears down the wide throat. The toad sleeps in some hole, or out-of-the-way place, during the day; but it comes out about sunset and searches for food all night.
8. Every few months the toad gets a new coat. Its old skin gets hard and dry, and cracks open on the back, showing a new skin under it. Then the toad pulls his head out, and pushes the old skin off his body and legs. When he has got it all off, he rolls it up into a ball and swallows it.
9. Toads live thirty or forty years, and often become quite tame. They will come at a call, and they seem to enjoy a gentle scratching. When held by the legs, they will catch the flies brought within their reach as readily as when at liberty.
snail
1. In summer, when walking out in country places, we often find pretty little snail-shells. Some of these are empty, and some have a live snail within.
2. The shell is the snail's house. It is a queer house, as it grows on him, as hair grows on a cat; and he carries it about on his back when he walks.
3. The snail lives upon plants. In the day he finds some safe place under a stone, or in a hole, draws himself into his house, and goes to sleep. In the night he comes out and feeds.
4. When we catch a snail, and wish to look at him, we find that he has gone into his house, where we can not see him.
5. To make him come out, put a plate in warm water until it is about as warm as the hand. Then dip the shell into the water, and put it on the warm, wet plate.
6. Then the snail will come out. First, he will put his head out. Then from the front part ofhis head he win put out four soft horns, two long ones and two short ones.
7. His eyes are in the ends of his long horns. When the horns are out, if you watch close, you will see the eyes move up to the tips.
8. Next comes the body, which is soft, long, and flat. The shell is on the back, nearer the tail than to the head. It has a spiral twist, as is shown in the picture.
9. The snail's body, where it touches the ground when he moves, is called the foot. When he moves, the head reaches forward first and takes a firm hold, then the other parts come forward in turn, the tail last.
10. The snail can not crawl over a dry place; so, when he moves, a thick fluid comes out of his foot, moistening the surface as he passes along.
11. As he must be saving of this fluid, in dry weather he stays at home most of the time, and comes out only when it is wet enough to crawl about.
12. When the cold weather comes, the snail crawls away to some quiet place, usually under a log or a stone, draws himself into his house, makes a door to keep out the cold, and goes to sleep until spring.
fly
1. Here is one of our friends that we know very well—the common house-fly. It is here drawn large on purpose, so that we can better see how it is made.
2. The fly is an insect. Its body is divided into three parts; and it has three pairs of legs. Upon its head are two large eyes, each of which is made up of about two thousand small eyes. When we look through a glass that makes things look large, we can see and count these little eyes of the fly.
3. Its feet are made in such a way that they will stick wherever it places them, so that it can crawl up the walls of the house, or on the ceiling, with its back down.
4. The fly's wings are light and thin, and made up of fine network. It has no jaws or teeth; and, instead of lips, it has a tube, or trunk, through which it sucks up its food, as we can suck milk through a straw.
5. When a fly lights on a lump of sugar, it puts out its trunk, and lets fall a drop of fluid, which is clear like water. This moistens the sugar, and then the fly sucks it up.
fly's legA Fly's Leg,magnified.
6. The fly keeps himself very clean. After each meal it brushes its head, first on one side, and then on the other, with its first pair of legs. Then it will rub the two legs together to get off the dirt.
7. The fly lays its eggs in the kind of food its young can eat. In a short time a little white grub hatches out, which does nothing but eat until it is of full size.
8. Then its skin becomes hard, and shrinks. It lies still, and does not eat anything for several days; but, inside its hard shell, wings are growing, and by-and-by the shell cracks open, and a full-grown fly comes out.
9. The blue-bottle fly has but two wings, while the common house-fly has four. This fly lays its eggs wherever it can find putrid meat, and the grubs which hatch out eat it all up, and so save us from evil odors and from breathing foul air.
ants dancing"'We'll dance all night,'Cried the ants with delight."
"We'll dance all night,"Cried the ants, with delight."Pray tell me why?"Inquired a fly."Because it's nice,"Explained the mice."Oh, very well!"Laughed the gazelle."Yes; but where?"Demanded a hare."Somewhere near,"Suggested the deer."Why not here?"Crowed chanticleer."Yes, this will do,"Said the kangaroo.
"We'll dance all night,"Cried the ants, with delight."Pray tell me why?"Inquired a fly."Because it's nice,"Explained the mice."Oh, very well!"Laughed the gazelle."Yes; but where?"Demanded a hare."Somewhere near,"Suggested the deer."Why not here?"Crowed chanticleer."Yes, this will do,"Said the kangaroo.
logo"'Don't step on my tail!'Pleaded the whale."
"Let's be smart!"Remarked the hart."Fetch our gloves,"Cried the doves."And my glass,"Brayed the ass."Where's my brooch?"Howled the roach."Curl my back hair,"Ordered the mare."Don't step on my tail!"Pleaded the whale."Please take care!"Begged the hare."Oh, my cravat!"Screamed a gnat."I've lost my wig,"Sobbed the pig."Give me a chain!"Cried the crane."My shirt's too narrow,"Complained a sparrow."What will you do?"Sighed the kangaroo."None fine as I,"Remarked the fly.
"Let's be smart!"Remarked the hart."Fetch our gloves,"Cried the doves."And my glass,"Brayed the ass."Where's my brooch?"Howled the roach."Curl my back hair,"Ordered the mare."Don't step on my tail!"Pleaded the whale."Please take care!"Begged the hare."Oh, my cravat!"Screamed a gnat."I've lost my wig,"Sobbed the pig."Give me a chain!"Cried the crane."My shirt's too narrow,"Complained a sparrow."What will you do?"Sighed the kangaroo."None fine as I,"Remarked the fly.
logo"'I'll play the horn,'Said the unicorn."
"Who will playFor us to-day?""I'll play the horn,"Said the unicorn."Who will pipe?"Asked the snipe."Why, I!"Said a fly."And I'll play the harp,"Added the carp."We are all ready now,"Spoke out the cow."Then form a row,"Said the buffalo."And now we'll dance,"Again said the ants.Then danced the cuckooWith the kangaroo,The cat with the rat,The cow with the sow,The dog with the hog,The snail with the whale,The wren with the hen,The bear with the hare,
"Who will playFor us to-day?""I'll play the horn,"Said the unicorn."Who will pipe?"Asked the snipe."Why, I!"Said a fly."And I'll play the harp,"Added the carp."We are all ready now,"Spoke out the cow."Then form a row,"Said the buffalo."And now we'll dance,"Again said the ants.Then danced the cuckooWith the kangaroo,The cat with the rat,The cow with the sow,The dog with the hog,The snail with the whale,The wren with the hen,The bear with the hare,
logo"The cow with the sow."
The lark with the shark,The ram with the lamb,The fox and the mareMade the last pair."Now we will feast,"Remarked a beast."Take an ice!"Begged the mice."Do drink this wine,"Invited the swine."Not just now,"Objected the sow."Let's have some beer,"Said the deer."But I prefer cider,"Whispered a spider."You must not thinkSo much about drink,"Said the cowWith a bow."It's a bad habit,"Shouted the rabbit.At last the fly,With a tear in his eye,Gave his arm to the larkAnd went off in the dark.Away in a triceScampered the mice.
The lark with the shark,The ram with the lamb,The fox and the mareMade the last pair."Now we will feast,"Remarked a beast."Take an ice!"Begged the mice."Do drink this wine,"Invited the swine."Not just now,"Objected the sow."Let's have some beer,"Said the deer."But I prefer cider,"Whispered a spider."You must not thinkSo much about drink,"Said the cowWith a bow."It's a bad habit,"Shouted the rabbit.At last the fly,With a tear in his eye,Gave his arm to the larkAnd went off in the dark.Away in a triceScampered the mice.