The narrator introduces us to the pika, a small, round-eared animal that lives on the plateaus and mountains of central China. They are also known as "chirping rat" or "stone rabbit" because of their resemblance to hamsters. There are 30 species of pika in the world, and they are mostly distributed near the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. They have short ears, no tail, and no canine teeth. They can dig a complex burrow system to live in and some birds use them to detect danger from the sun or hail. The pika can also detect the presence of other animals in the burrow. In ancient Chinese books, animals and birds share the same burrow. They live mostly in areas with low and sparse vegetation. When winter comes, they don't need to rely on the food stored in their burrows to survive the cold.