The Animals That Live With Us

A long, long time before now, all animals lived far from people. Then some of them, one kind at a time, moved nearer — and they have lived with us from then to now.

The dog

The dog was first — before bread, before houses. All dogs were one dangerous kind of animal long before now, a kind no one could live with. People and dogs changed each other, a small amount at a time, year after year. Now the dog sleeps inside the house. A dog wants to be where you are. If you are sad, your dog knows it before you say a word. No one has explained how.

The cat

The cat moved in when people started holding grain inside their houses. Small animals ate the grain; cats ate the small animals; people were very happy to have the cats. The cat thinks your house is its house. Maybe it is right. A cat will sit with you when it wants to — and not one moment before.

The sheep

Sheep give us cloth: their hair grows long, people cut it — this does not hurt the sheep — and make clothing from it. A sheep does not want to be one sheep; it wants to be near other sheep. When you see one sheep, look around. There are more.

The birds

Birds live near us but not with us, in the trees around the house. When the sky starts to become light, they start their music. They do this each day, and no one asked them to. One bird lives with people in very big numbers: the bird that gives us eggs. The number of these birds is bigger than the number of people: for each person alive, there are about three of these birds.

The fish

Fish cannot live with us — we cannot give them a place in the house. But people have gone out on the big waters to find them from the first days. A fish lives in water and breathes water, which no other animal in this book can do.

The big animal that gives milk

There is a big animal that gives us milk — for drinking, and for making into many other foods. Its milk is made for its own children, but people drink it as well. Much of what people eat, in many countries, starts with this animal.

They know us

No animal knows your words. But your dog hears your feet and knows it is you, and your cat knows your hands, and the birds know when you put food out. To the animals that live with us, we are the animals that live with them.