Vicki Igel. age 7. of Columbus. Ohio:

What is inside a cow's mouth?

Bossy's mouth and lips look soft and gentle. But she may mistake your hand for a bunch of hay and bite it. So ‑ this is a good question to ask rather than try to find out for yourself.

Each animal has the kind of teeth that serve it best. The cow eats grass and hay stuffs. What's more she does her eating in two operations. She swallows the food whole. Later she coughs it up and chews the cud. She needs a special mouth for this kind of eating.

The grass or hay is grasped with her strong tongue and the front part of her mouth. She has lower front teeth but no. upper front teeth. Lips lower teeth tongue and hard upper gums do a good Job at tearing up a mouthful. Then down it goes swallowed whole. Chewing is done when Bossy finds a quiet place to rest. A cud comes up in a round moist ball. The back of her mouth is filled with a fine test of chompers for chewing cud.