THE COATI-MONDI AND ITS COUSINS. 



37 



stop. The man opened the box for her. She was in rapture. In went 

 the nose, also both front paws. Very soon that wonderfully mobile 

 organ had separated every fibre, so that the mass seemed trebly in- 

 creased. The same man let her have his dirty pipe, when her velvety 

 nose was instantly squeezed into the rank nicotian bowl. 



It would be wrong to infer that Nasua's prying propensity never 

 got her into trouble. In the following instance, speaking metaphori- 

 cally, she put her foot into it : The old cat had just finished her nap, 

 and was stretching herself, an operation which means that she stood 

 with her four feet close together, the limbs elongated, the back rounded 

 up like that of a camel, the head erect and drawn back, and the mouth 

 widely 



yawning 



Such a sight Nosie had never seen, hence it must 



Fig. 1. 



Coati-Mondi (Nasua fusca) A native of South America. The full-jrrown animal is about the size of the 

 domestic cat. Compare its bear-like step with Fig. 4. 



be looked into. So in a trice, erect, and resting flatly on her hind- 

 feet like a little bear, she put her arms round Tabbie's neck, and, reek- 

 ing with nicotine, down went that inquisitive nose into the depths of 

 the feline fauces. This unwarrantable intrusion was met by a recep- 

 tion more feeling than felicitous, judging from the haste in which 

 Nasua withdrew to a corner of the room to ruminate on the untoward 

 incident. Her method of relieving the injured member was itself origi- 

 nal. She placed it between her paws, holding it tightly, then jerked 

 it through them, giving a violent sneeze every time it came out. That 



