Shrew

the general name of a family including the smallest quadrupeds known. The shrews resemble mice in general appearance but are not related to them. The shrews are rather smaller, and have pointed muzzles. They have sharp teeth and are related to the moles. Their natural food is insects, rarely seeds or grain. The common shrew of North America was called moon-eater by the Indians, from a legendary belief that the shrew with its little nose attacked the full moon and ate it away by degrees, until, when the old moon was all consumed, a new moon grew in its place. The shrew is active all winter. There are numerous species, both in the New World and in the Old. England has three; the Alps, one. There are thirty-five species between the Mexican border and the Arctic Ocean. Shrews feed at night. A pair of shrews will soon clear a house of cockroaches. Shrews are quarrelsome to a fault, and are noted fighters; hence the term shrewish applied to a quarrelsome person. Of late the word is applied to women only. The adjective shrewd is in better standing. Shrews are killed by cats, possibly under the supposition that they are mice, but a strong musky odor prevents the cat from eating a shrew. Owls, hawks, weasels, and shrikes make no distinction between a shrew and a mouse. See Hedgehog