--- title: The real animals of the Wild Wood: the badger, the stoat, the weasel, the ferret, field-mice and hedgehogs in winter — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The real animals of the Wild Wood: the badger, the stoat, the weasel, the ferret, field-mice and hedgehogs in winter», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: In «The Wind in the Willows» the Wild Wood is full of --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / The real animals of the Wild Wood: the… # The real animals of the Wild Wood: the badger, the stoat, the weasel, the ferret, field-mice and hedgehogs in winter Lesson 405 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 19 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/0/) — In «The Wind in the Willows» the Wild Wood is full of stoats, weasels and ferrets who whistle, patter and finally steal Toad Hall, while the wise old Badger lives deep underground and the field-mice sing carols in the snow. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/1/) — Real stoats and weasels are not wicked: they are small hunters that must catch mice, voles and rabbits to live, just as a robin must catch worms. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/2/) — The book turns hunters into villains because that makes a good story. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/3/) — The Badger is closer to life: real badgers dig huge old homes called setts and stay underground through cold spells. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/4/) — But real badgers live in family groups, not alone, and they love company of their own kind. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/5/) — Some parts are simply wrong for the season: real hedgehogs are asleep all winter, so two little hedgehogs on their way to school in the snow could only happen in a story. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/6/) — So read the Wild Wood like a naturalist: enjoy the story, then ask what the real animal would be doing. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/7/) — Real badgers live in family groups of about five or six in a sett, a set of tunnels and chambers that can be used by badgers for a hundred years or more. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/8/) — Badgers do not truly hibernate, but in cold weather they stay underground for days, sleeping a lot and living on the fat they built up in autumn, a bit like the Badger who does nothing «strenuous» in winter. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/9/) — Badgers are very clean: they drag in fresh grass and bracken for bedding and dig special toilet pits away from the sett. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/10/) — Badgers are protected by law in Britain, so nobody may harm a badger or block or dig into a sett. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/11/) — A stoat and a weasel look alike, but a stoat is bigger and always has a black tip on its tail, while a weasel is smaller, with a short tail and no black tip. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/12/) — In cold northern places a stoat's coat turns white in winter, keeping only the black tail tip; this white fur is called ermine and was once used on kings' robes. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/13/) — A weasel is so small and thin that it can follow a mouse or vole right down its hole; a stoat is strong enough to catch a rabbit much bigger than itself. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/15/) — A wood mouse, also called the long-tailed field mouse, has big eyes and ears, stores seeds for winter and stays active all winter, so mice really could be out in the snow at Christmas. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/16/) — The harvest mouse is Britain's smallest rodent, about as heavy as a 20p coin, and it weaves a ball-shaped nest among tall grass or wheat stalks, holding on with its gripping tail; harvesting machines can destroy those nests, just as the book's field-mice feared. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/17/) — Hedgehogs hibernate from about November to March in a nest of leaves under a hedge or a shed; a small hedgehog out in the daytime in winter is usually in trouble, and an adult should call a wildlife rescue. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/18/) — Rabbits live in burrows called a warren and warn each other of danger by thumping the ground with their back feet and flashing their white tails as they run. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/405-the-real-animals-of-the-wild-wood-badger-stoat-weasel-ferret-field-mice-and-winter-hedgehogs/20/) — The nightjar, which frightened Toad in the night wood, is a bird that hunts moths at dusk, makes a long churring sound like a little engine and flies to Africa for the winter. - ← previous: [The real animals of the Just So Stories: the whale, camel, rhino, leopard, elephant, kangaroo, armadillo and crab](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/404-the-real-animals-of-the-just-so-stories-whale-camel-rhino-leopard-elephant-kangaroo-armadillo-crab/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)