the world champion high jumper is an annoying little insect called a flea. these pests live in the hair of warm-blooded animals, making them itch and burn. fleas do not have wings. their ability to get from one animal to another depends entirely on their jumping! they can leapone hundred times their own height. that would be like a person jumping as high as a forty-story building.
fleas are much more than troublesome. they are also dangerous. these tiny insects feed on the blood of whatever animal they are living on. asthey hop from animal to animal,and animal,and animals to people, they carry diseases and germs. it was in this way that fleas spread the plague during the middle ages. at that time, rat fleas were responsible for killing three fourths of the people of europe!
today,plague has all but been wiped out.but fleas are still around. just ask any cat or dog!