Learn About Moles
Moles are small mammals which live underground and dig - in fact, they can
dig an amazing 14 metres in one hour! They have very small eyes and very bad
eyesight, but excellent senses of smell and touch to compensate. They eat worms!
Fun fact: moles used to be known as mouldywarps!
Mole Colouring
Mole colouring page
Mole Printables
Print, fold and fill in one of
our mini booklets
Mole booklet - blank
Mole booklet - ruled
Mole bookmarks
Mole acrostic printable - blank
Mole acrostic printable - blank, ruled
Mole acrostic printable - with graphic
Mole acrostic printable - with graphic, ruled
Mole notebooking page 1
Mole notebooking page 2
Isn't this a great photo? It isn't often you can see a mole peeping out of his mole-hill like this!
Moles In Stories
There is a very well-known Mole in Kenneth Grahame's wonderful book, "The
Wind in the Willows." Here is a scene from the first chapter of the story, when
Mole meets Water Rat and they start on an adventure.
* * *
'Hullo, Mole!' said the Water Rat.
'Hullo, Rat!' said the Mole.
'Would you like to come over?' enquired the Rat presently.
'Oh, its all very well to TALK,' said the Mole, rather pettishly, he being new
to a river and riverside life and its ways.
The Rat said nothing, but stooped and unfastened a rope and hauled on it; then
lightly stepped into a little boat which the Mole had not observed. It was
painted blue outside and white within, and was just the size for two animals;
and the Mole's whole heart went out to it at once, even though he did not yet
fully understand its uses.
The Rat sculled smartly across and made fast. Then he
held up his forepaw as the Mole stepped gingerly down. 'Lean on that!' he said.
'Now then, step lively!' and the Mole to his surprise and rapture found himself
actually seated in the stern of a real boat.
'This has been a wonderful day!' said he, as the Rat
shoved off and took to the sculls again. 'Do you know, I've never been in a boat
before in all my life.'
'What?' cried the Rat, open-mouthed: 'Never been in a—you never—well I—what have
you been doing, then?'
'Is it so nice as all that?' asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared
to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars,
the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly
under him.
'Nice? It's the ONLY thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward
for his stroke. 'Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolute
nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply
messing,' he went on dreamily: 'messing—about—in—boats; messing——'
'Look ahead, Rat!' cried the Mole suddenly.
It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous
oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.
'—about in boats—or WITH boats,' the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up
with a pleasant laugh. 'In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems
really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you
don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere
else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you
never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always
something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not.
Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop
down the river together, and have a long day of it?'
The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness, spread his chest with a sigh of
full contentment, and leaned back blissfully into the soft cushions. 'WHAT a day
I'm having!' he said. 'Let us start at once!'
* * *
Back to British Wildlife Theme
Back to Themes
|
