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1 The King of Beasts

Who is the “King of Beasts"? We all know the answer. It is the lion. A male lion weighs from 350 to 400 pounds. A few weigh up to 500 pounds. Most males are about nine feet long. That's from tip of nose to tip of tail. Most are about three­-and-a-half feet tall. That is at the shoulders. Females are smaller. They weigh 250 to 300 pounds. They are about eight feet long. Lions live 20 to 25 years in a zoo. How long in the jungle? No one knows.

Lions are powerful. The power is in the shoulders and forelegs. Each paw has long, sharp claws. These claws hook into prey. The lion's weight drags down the prey. Then the four long canine teeth go to work. The teeth fasten onto the throat. The lion has no chewing type teeth. So it uses its canine teeth. They rip the flesh into chunks. Then the chunks are swallowed whole.

Lions live in groups. The groups are called prides. A pride will have one to three adult males, several females, and cubs. Life within a pride is peaceful. Lions usually spend about 20 hours a day sleeping or resting. After a big meal, they may rest for 24 hours.

Lions prefer large prey. They hunt zebra, antelope, and buffalo. All these animals can run faster than the lion. So how does the lion catch them? Answer: by surprise. The lion creeps as close as possible first. Then it jumps. Lions often hunt at night. At night their eyes can see in the dark. Also, they can creep up closer to surprise their prey. A killed animal is dragged to a shady spot. (One lion can drag a 600 pound zebra. It would take six men to do the same.) Then the whole pride eats together. A male can eat about 75 pounds of meat in one meal. What a meal!

2 The Staff of Life

When hungry, what do you think of? Some want a thick steak. Others want a crusty loaf of French bread. I don't know about you. But I'd vote for bread. It is food that people never tire of.

Bread is a baked product made of dough. In our day, yeast is what makes it rise. The yeast ferments. It forms gas bubbles. These bubbles are trapped in the dough. These bubbles raise the bread. They give it lightness.

We know about early breads. Records show they were flat, heavy slabs. The breads were made of wild seeds, nuts, or acorns. Native Americans on the Pacific slopes still pound acorns into a form of flour. Then they make bread. Even yeast would not make such a heavy bread light.

Besides yeast, what makes bread rise? First, a flour with protein in it. Wheat or rye are often used. Start by grinding the seeds. This makes a coarse flour. Next, add water. How much water? About 60 to 65 percent of the flour's weight. Water added to flour forms gluten. Gluten must be there for the dough to rise. It forms a network throughout the dough. The dough is now elastic. It can expand. It can now hold the bubbles formed by yeast. These bubbles are carbon dioxide.

Good, smooth, light bread is rather recent. Two techniques made it possible. First, it used to be that wheat was ground between 2 stones. The stones would wear away. So the flour would have grit in it. A Swiss inventor crushed wheat between steel rollers. This got rid of grit. Second, Charles Fleischmann made yeast easy to use. He formed it into cakes. This was in 1915.

Fresh bread and butter. You can't beat it.

3 Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Good sleep is needed for good health. During sleep, your body repairs itself. Your immune system is built up. Don't shortchange yourself of the sleep you need. Here are some of an expert's tips for getting a good night's sleep.

1. Make sure your room is dark. Pull down the shades. Let no light of any kind in.

2. Before you go to sleep, ask your family not to turn on a light. Light breaks the sleep rhythm. Once broken, it's hard to get the sleep clock running right. As a result, you will not sleep well. You will wake up tired.

3. A hot bath just before bed is good. It makes you relax. You are at peace. This starts the desire for sleep.

4. During the day, get some exercise. Even a mild program will show good results. How about a good long walk? This will get your body to work. You will find that toward evening you will get that nice, tired feeling. Sleep then will come easily. Added to this, exercise is good for your health.

5. Here is what to do when you get up. Open the shades or blinds. Let the sun in. Open the windows. Let the fresh air in. This sun and air get imprinted on your brain. The rhythm of being awake gets started. Your body clock is set for the day. That clock will let you know when it is the right time to go to sleep.

4 The Longest Trail

Listen carefully. Don't answer too quickly. At least, don't say “yes” too soon. A friend might ask, “Want to take a hike?"You should say, “Where?" If he replies, “The entire Appalachian Trail,” take warning. Here's why.

The trail is the longest marked footpath in the world. It starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia. It winds along the crest of the mountains. It goes through 14 states. It ends at Mt. Katahdin, Maine. As the crow flies, this is about 2,200 miles. But when walked, the trail is 2,600 miles. If done nonstop, it takes about six months.

Most hikers begin from Springer Mountain. They start around April 1. This is why. The snow has probably melted in the south. But there may still be snow in the north. By the time they reach Maine, the snow will be long gone. What's the chance of making it nonstop? Here are the data. About 1,500 attempt it each year. About 300 make it. It is a great challenge.

Careful planning is necessary. There are problems to solve. The biggest is weight on one's back. Too many hikers start out with too much. Wise ones don't carry food. They send packages to post offices along the way. There are no camp fires allowed. Some shelters are near the path. But the trail is crowded. It is hard to find space. A perfect tent is necessary. And it rains a lot. Great rain gear is needed. It should be light.

Benton MacKaye founded the trail. The first part was cut in 1922. It is cared for by volunteers in each state. Do you plan to go? Read lots of books by people who've done it.

5 The Arabian Horse

Arabs have always loved horses. They spent years breeding the best. And they won blue ribbons. But they did not rely on ribbons. Stronger proof showed they were best. The proof was this. Their horses were chosen by the world's breeders. The breeders would buy a horse. This horse was the stud. They would use it to breed others. In this way, breeders got a head start. They started with a great horse. They reaped the work of years of Arab breeding.

What makes this horse so good? Here are some of the good points. The bones of the horse are as dense as ivory. So it has fewer leg problems. The U.S. Army put horses to a 300-mile test. Only 15 percent of the pure Arabians had leg problems. Of pure thoroughbred horses, 90 percent came down with sore legs.

How about a test for endurance? The Arabian horse went miles. It carried a heavy load too. It just did not tire. Why? It took an X-ray to give the answer. The horse has a short back. It has one bone less than other horses. This gives it a strong back. This gives it a straight back. That's why it can carry a heavy load.

It is hard to find a horse with so many good points. There is still a further good point. The horse is a beauty. The beauty comes from the way the horse is put together. The proportions are perfect. There is no part in excess. There are no extremes. All parts are in perfect balance. The neck is set just right. The flaring nostrils take in air easily. The rib cage holds lots of air. This makes long distances easy to travel. The Arab breeders did a perfect job.

6 All About Tea

Which country grows the most tea: The answer is India. It grows three times as much as China. Which country drinks the most tea: It's neither China nor Japan. It's Great Britain.

In the wild, tea plants may be 30 feet tall. But a plant grown for market is pruned. Pruning keeps the plant only three or four feet tall. This is an easy height for tea plucking. Only the two top leaves and bud of each new shoot are plucked. So to make money, tea plantations must be huge.

In general, there are two kinds of tea. Black tea and green tea. Black tea is fermented. In the process, the tea loses nearly all of its healthy qualities. Green tea is steamed right after the leaves are picked. Green tea retains its healthy qualities. For instance, it may prevent heart disease.

How did we get tea bags? The answer: by accident. Tea merchants used to send samples in tin boxes. This was costly. One merchant thought of a cheaper way. He sent samples in small silk bags. Customers would snip open the bag. They would brew the leaves as usual. One customer put the bag into a pot. Then he just poured hot water over it. And the tea bag was born.

Shen Nung was the first to drink tea. (Shen was a Chinese emperor.) This was about 2737 B.C. Shen had bad digestion. So he drank several cups of hot water daily. One day something happened. Leaves from a wild tea tree fell into the hot water pot. The next cup was poured. The water was now colored. Shen sipped it. He liked it. He drank it all. Shen was proud of his new drink. He served it to his guests. Word spread. People thought this way. Tea is good enough for the Emperor. So it must be good enough for the people. Tea became the drink of China.

7. The Pacific Salmon

Salmon are born in fresh water. But they spend their entire adult life in the salty sea. At sea, a salmon feeds on small creatures. These are a kind of tiny shrimp. The shrimp are called “pink feed.” This feed probably gives color to the pink meat of a salmon.

The sea is filled with food. But it is filled with enemies too. Some of these are seals, sharks, and sea bass. Salmon make a tasty meal, so they're not safe anywhere. Down deep, the lamprey eels dwell. They gobble up many salmon. There's no safety at the surface either. Sea birds swoop down. They carry many salmon away.

All salmon are not alike. There are four main ones. One is the chinook. A big one weighs 100 or more pounds. A fish like this would snap your rod. Second, there's the sockeye. It weighs about five pounds. Its flesh is deep red. This is the most important commercial salmon. It yields the highest dollar value. Pink salmon are the smallest. They weigh about three to seven pounds. Most pinks are canned. They have a delicate flavor. Fourth is the coho. Its flesh is medium red. It weighs about nine pounds. Some that stay out at sea longer weigh more. They can be 25 pounds.

Salmon travel far. They may go thousands of miles. Most travel for three years. They were born in the headwaters of some stream. They were five inches long then. That's when they first poked their noses into the sea. But they have swum far away from their place of birth.

Now, here's the big mystery. The salmon turn back. Why do they do this? Some call it the “homing instinct.” The salmon move back toward the fresh water in which their life began.

8 The Long Way Home

The “homing instinct” drives the salmon great distances. The fish may be a thousand miles from home. It is probably off the coast of Chile or Peru. Suddenly, it heads northward. It is looking for the freshwater stream where it was spawned. Hundreds of streams flow into the sea. All of them contain fresh water. All are very much like the stream where the salmon was born. But it passes all these. It swims day and night, mile after mile. But then it takes a right turn. There is no hesitation. “This is my home stream,” it seems to think. “I can smell it.” This is the mystery. The fish was five inches long when it left. It weighed about a pound. It was gone about three years. How does it know exactly where to go? Now a new vigor enters its body. Rapids and waterfalls cannot stop it. It leaps and swims against the current. It can leap ten feet. It can leap into a waterfall and with its powerful tail leap again. If it fails the first time, it tries over and over.

There are men on the banks with rods. The salmon ignores all bait and food. It has only one mission in mind. It swims to find the clear water of its birth. It will find it. Not by sight. But by taste and smell.

The salmon is now upstream. Here the water does not run so swiftly. The salmon is almost home. “Here is my side streamlet,” it seems to think. The water is just a few feet deep. Finally the trip is over. But the salmon does not rest. Instead, it starts its nest. The nest is called a redd. The salmon's tail and body swish hard. Mud, plants, and stones are scattered by the movement. The salmon clears a spot five to six feet across. Now a “clean and dustless" nest can be built.

9 Completing the Life Cycle

On the trip home, the male salmon stays with his mate. They travel north together for thousands of miles. They jump the same rapids. They hurdle the same waterfalls. When she builds a new nest, he protects it. Other females are looking for a nesting spot. But the male keeps them away.

The female doesn't rest. She hovers over the nest. She contracts. The eggs come out. Dozens at a time form a stream. The nest is quickly covered by about 10,000 eggs. Also quickly, the male darts over the eggs. He gives off a milky mist called milt. This milt fertilizes the eggs.

Then a strange thing happens. The parents don't stay around. They're exhausted. They relax. They let themselves float downstream. Soon they die and are washed ashore. But this is not a waste. Hungry bears already line the shore. They eat and get fatter and fatter. Soon they will be ready for their winter's sleep.

What about the eggs? They will lay in the nest for about 2¹/₂ months. About that time, there will be a wiggle in the eggs. Then the young, called fry burst forth. Each fry now has a yolk sac under its chin. This sac provides food. Now the fry hide among the reeds and weeds. They feed off the sac for a few weeks. Then, after about ten weeks, they look like fish. They stay in the freshwater a few months longer. Then the strong urge comes. The salmon are vigorous and lively. They are five inches long now. They are ready to leave the friendly freshwater. Its taste and smell will stay in their brains. The memories will be there for the salmon's whole life cycle. They will be there until the salmon becomes food for the bears lined up on the shore.

10 The Lone Eagle

Could you stay awake for 33¹/₂ hours? That's a long time. Not even a few seconds to doze are allowed. The “Lone Eagle" did it. Who is he? He is Charles A. Lindbergh.

It was spring 1927. The grassy field was soaked with rain. The tires were sinking into the turf. The plane was loaded with tons of gasoline. It was just enough to get to Paris.

The Lone Eagle gunned the engine to get maximum power. He knew the plane was heavy with gas. The soggy turf would make it hard to gain take-off speed. The Lone Eagle waved a signal. The wheel blocks were jerked away. The plane lurched forward. The soggy turf did not let go easily. Would he gain enough speed? Would there be enough runway? The trees at the end were already close—too close.

It was too late to stop. He pulled the stick back hard. Luckily the plane lifted. The wheels skimmed the top leaves. Prayerful cheers of relief rose from the ground crew. The Lone Eagle quickly waved. He turned northward. First he crossed Long Island Sound. Then he headed to Labrador. The plane was to fly over land as long as possible. Just in case.

Then it was all water. He was over the North Atlantic. Ice formed on his wings. The Lone Eagle skimmed the waves. It was warmer there. The ice melted.

Thirty-three hours passed. He saw the lights of Paris. He circled. Over 100,000 people crowded the airstrip. He circled again. He found a clear airstrip. He landed. A battalion of police moved in. They had to keep the wild crowd at bay. Everyone wanted to see the hero. He was the first to fly across the ocean alone.

11 Discovered by Accident

What was discovered by accident? The answer is penicillin. It kills germs. By killing germs, it saves lives. Suppose you are sick. You go to a doctor. She examines you. She says you have a “staph” infection. She gives you some pills. You take them. The pills knockout the staph. Soon you are well. Before penicillin, this would not happen. Staph was almost sure death.

Everyone wanted a cure. Labs worked day and night. They grew the staph in small dishes. Then they tried to kill it. Nothing worked.

The lab dishes had covers on them. These kept things from falling into a dish. Molds were a big worry. They are always floating in the air. You can't see them. They're too small. There are thousands of different molds. Molds can ruin an experiment. That's why dishes are covered.

Dr. Alexander Fleming was working to kill the staph germ. He worked for years. One day he took a cover off a dish. He looked inside. There was a thick growth of staph germ. There was also some mold. Then he saw something strange. Where the mold was, there was no growth of staph. This is what Fleming probably thought. “By accident, I found a mold to kill the dreaded staph.”

This is how penicillin was found. But here's the real miracle. There are thousands of types of molds. But only one type can kill staph. The mold must have fallen into the dish a few days before. The cover was probably off only a few seconds. In those few seconds the right mold fell into the right dish. Another man might have thrown the dish away. What a loss this would have been. The human race was lucky. Fleming was very smart. He understood what the mold did.

12 The Pony Express

Would you want this job? The ad was in a newspaper. “Expert riders wanted. Young, light, lean, and wiry men. Orphans are preferred.” What was the job? A Pony Express rider! It may sound scary. But the pay was high for those times. It was $100 to $150 a month. Buffalo Bill went for a job. He fibbed. He was only 14. He got the job. His father was dead. He had a mother and family. He had to support them.

The Pony Express carried U.S. mail. The route started in Missouri. It ended in California. It covered 1,966 miles. Service began April 3, 1860. The first trip took ten days. Later trips took eight to nine days. Speed was prime. The Express had to beat the stagecoach. The coach carried mail too. But it took over 20 days.

Why was the Express so fast? The riders rode top speed. They dashed from one station to the next. Stations were 10 to 15 miles apart. A fresh horse was always ready. Riders only stopped for two minutes. Each one rode about 75 miles. They rode night and day. They went out in all kinds of weather.

The Pony Express owned 400 horses. Buyers first went through the route. They bought horses from the Native Americans. They took only the fastest. This was the secret of success.

The Express ended on October 24, 1861. It lasted only 18 months. Here is why. The telegraph was now coast to coast. News could travel even faster. But riders had gone over 650,000 miles. And the mail was lost only once. It is a great record.

13 The Personality of a Cat

Cats are very smart. They are one of the smartest of all tame animals. The brain of a cat is large. It is highly developed. This may be why cats have good memories. Cats remember kindness and cruelty. It is a good idea to treat a cat well. Cats can “speak” too. They meow for attention. Often they stand by a door. Then they meow. Then they look over their shoulders. They want to see if you are coming. Cats make other noises also. They purr when they are happy. They hiss when they are angry.

Cats have a lot of pride. They usually will not do silly tricks. They seem to know what is beneath them. Almost all cats want to have their own way. They are mostly true to only one person—if to anyone. They don't switch loyalty easily. Cats were free in the wild. They want to stay that way. They like to be their own masters. When a cat is left alone, it can go back to caring for itself. It can live in the wild again. This is different from dogs. Dogs will switch their loyalty. At one time dogs were loyal to the leaders of packs. Now, they will transfer allegiance to their owner. They do not like to be alone.

With kindness, a cat can be trained. Cats can learn to do many things. Some cats can learn to open doors. Some can ring doorbells. Some can even turn on water. Then they take a drink. Cats are very smart, though. Here is what they do before drinking. They put a paw in the water. They test whether the water is hot or cold.