ng; that is, there is a gap
at the center. In some leopards the ring is broken up in parts; that is,
the ring is not a complete line, but is made up of a number of short
lines. The spot then looks like a rosette, because these lines spread
outward like rose petals.

All these that I have just mentioned are regular shapes. But in many
leopards the spots are quite irregular.

The spots also vary in _size_. In some leopards the spots are larger
than a silver dollar, and in some they are as small as a quarter-dollar.

_Why the Leopard has Spots_

Now you may wonder why different kinds of leopards have different kinds
of spots, both in shape and in size. I shall tell you. Each has the kind
of spot that is most useful to him. How is that? How can the spots on
the leopard's skin be _useful_ to him? Why does the leopard have spots
at all?

[Illustration: Leopard]

[Illustration: Jaguar

Photographs from the American Museum of Natural History, N. Y.]

First, I must mention that all leopards can climb trees, just like cats.
People believe that once upon a time lions and tigers could also climb
trees. Of course, they climbed only big trees, which have a very thick
bark into which they could dig their claws deep enough to bear their
weight. But now the lion and the tiger have forgotten how to climb
trees. Perhaps they did not keep up the use of their power to climb
trees.

But the leopard has kept up his habit of climbing trees. In fact that is
the way _he usually catches his prey_. Does not that seem wonderful? I
shall explain how he catches his prey in that way.

He chooses a tree near a stream, or near a pool of water, where
different animals come to drink. The leopard climbs up to a bough of the
tree, about ten or twelve feet from the ground. He lies flat on the
bough and waits.

Presently a deer comes to the water to drink. The leopard waits till the
deer is quite near, perhaps actually passing under the bough. Then
suddenly the leopard jumps down on the deer and catches it.

The leopard often does that in the daytime, as well as at night. And in
the daytime the sun may be shining, and on some nights the moon may be
shining. It is _then_ that the spots are useful to the leopard. Can you
tell why?

Because when the sun or the moon is shining, a little of the light peeps
down between the leaves of the tree and reaches the ground. Have you
ever noticed that? If so, you have seen that the light reaches the
grou